Travel is a Challenge

Tonight is my last night at a business conference and I ate out of the box. Man it was so good but I'm paying for it now w/ an upset stomach.

I have managed to run 4 miles everyday but that is no excuse. Tomorrow, we wrap up by noon and I am flying home. I plan to run in the morning and stay firmly in the box.

For accountability, I emailed my health educator and called my husband to let them know what I had done.

I am disappointed that I didn't last longer. What does that say about my chances of success? I am not sure. Perhaps I am only human. Most people would not stick to this diet for this long without any bumps in the road. I take comfort in that I tried to make better choices. I did not eat the starchy foods. I stuck with lean meat and veggies tonight.

I'm kind of glad I have an upset stomach. That will teach me what the consequences are for eating out of the box.

PA is going to kick my butt

Based on your weight, HMR assigns you a multiplier which you use to calculate your calories burned. When I started, my multiplier was 8 so for every minute of moderate PA, I burned 8 calories. So my 60 min workout would be worth 480 calories. When I hit 220 lbs, my multiplier went down to 7. So my same 60 min workout is now 420 calories. Soon my multiplier will be 6 which means my hour workout will be 360 calories. Eventually once I reach my goal weight, my multiplier will be 5.

What does this all mean? Well it means that I need to increase the intensity and/or duration of my workouts to keep my PA numbers high. Granted, I am in much better physical condition than when I first started but I will need to work harder to keep my 3-4 lbs per week momentum going.

Time to work out!

Week 15 Weigh In

My TOM has hit this week so I was not expecting a big loss but I was happy to see a 3 lb drop! This brings my total weight loss to 57 lbs. This confirms to me that my plateau has come and gone. My new meal plan is very satisfying and has re-ignited me to stay in Phase 2 until I hit my goal weight.

My official weigh in is tonight - I hope the scales there are just as nice. :-)

Update - the scales last night were very nice! I'm 3 lbs away from getting below 30 BMI and no longer classified as "obese". I can't wait!

HMR 500's - Adjusting my meal plan

Since my last weigh in, I've been on HMR 500 shakes. These shakes are still equivalent in nutrition to the 800's but are only 100 calories per shake instead of the 160. At first I resisted going on these shakes for fear that I would be forced to reduce my PA. But this week I have discovered a few things.

First is that I cannot go longer than 2 - 2 1/5 hours on just one shake. The calories are too low and my blood sugar dips into the 70's and I get really hungry really fast. Second,  I quickly realized that on the lower calorie shakes, I need to either drink more of them or include other in-the-box foods to manage the hunger (and sugar levels).

The meal plan I established on the 800 shakes was 3 liquid shakes, 2 muffins (equal to 1 shake), and cereal for dinner. The plan B that I allowed myself to do twice a week max was 4 shakes, 2 muffins, and 1 meal replacement. This gave me between 870 (plan A) - 1050 (plan B) calories per day. If I add a power bar that day or a soup, it could get as high as 1200 calories.

On the 500's I had to change things up a bit so my new meal plan is 3 liquid shakes, 2 muffins, 1 cereal, and 1 MR for dinner. All this food turns out to be about 900 calories. Adding the occasional power bar or soup only kicks it up to 1060. I am going to try my new plan this week and keep my PA levels normal. I will be very happy with this plan since it allows me to have a greater variety of food on a daily basis. I see this as a step towards incorporating normal food back into my diet. If I can continue my weight loss momentum on this meal plan, I can continue the diet for much longer than I originally thought.

Let's see how it goes at my next weigh in.

Finally forced to shop for clothes

When I started this journey, I had several ranges of clothes in my closet that I could wear ranging from my very large size 20's and 2x clothes to my 16w's. As I lost weight, I would simply gather the stuff that was too big and donate them until all I have left now are my 16's.

Well after some not so subtle comments from my mom about the unflattering way my clothes are hanging on me, I decided it was time to get at least a few pairs of jeans that fit. So this weekend while at Costco, I found some GV capri's. Mom and I both wear these jeans because they are cut nicely so I decided to pick up a few pair for the both of us. Mom is a size 12 and the scrooge in me came out again thinking "I'm maybe a 14, if I buy a 12, they won't fit now but they will by summer..." So I bought 3 pairs of size 12's for myself.

When I brought them home, I immediately went to the closet to try on a pair. My DH wanted to see them on but I quickly shoo'ed him away since there was no way these pants were going to fit anyway. I just wanted to see how far it was from being able to button. To my utter shock and disbelief, those jeans went on and buttoned right up! WOW!!!!!! Now mind you, they were a bit snug at the waist. But I didn't have to suck anything in to get them to fit! I can wear them now and in about 2 weeks they will fit just right.

I was so thrilled, I ran down the hallway to show them off to DH and the kids. I even had a picture taken showing off the size 12 tag and emailed it to my mom. She was thrilled too!

Now I'm still cheap because I know I will continue to shrink and I would rather spend my money when I hit my goal weight but it is sure nice to be in 12's. :-D

Week 14 Weigh In

I weighed in this week at 186 which is a total weight loss of 54 lbs. I am so relieved! Thankfully my plateau was short lived and I am back on track. Last night to commemorate my 50lb loss, the nurse took my picture and remeasured my waist and hips.

I have lost 10 inches from my waist (49 > 39)and 5 inches from my hips. YAHOOOOEY!

I have also been moved over to use the HMR 500 shakes. They are only 100 calories per serving vs 160 in the 800's. That effectively cuts 360 calories a day from my shake consumption. I have drinking my first one this morning and I can equate it to the difference between whole milk and low fat milk. It tastes the same but is not as creamy.

My hope is that the shift to the 500's will give me the nutrition I need and allow me to start incorporating more meal replacements into my diet. I need to move off a full liquid diet and I see this as the first step in that transition.

I also spoke with my health educator last night. She has encouraged me to keep up the 6 shakes per day if that seems to be working for me. She also does not want me to back down from running or any of my other PA for fear of not losing weight. She has continued to reassure me that my plateau was due to me retaining water due to all my PA not a true stagnation of weight loss.

I will resume my PA. Tentatively my workout plan is as follows:

Thurs: Run / Walk
Friday: Bike / Ab X
Saturday: Walk 4 miles at beach
Sunday: Run / Walk
Monday: Bike / Ab X
Tuesday: Run / Walk
Wednesday: Walk or Bike

Plateau Update

Taking the advice of both the nurse and health educator, I've cut down my PA this week to just the bike and increased my calorie intake by including an extra shake. It took a few days to mentally down shift. It was not easy to eat more and work out less and still expect to see any change on the scale that didn't go in the wrong direction.

Wed and Saturday were big PA days. I racked up 840 calories burned each day. Saturday I took on the Core workout of P90x - so much for taking it easy! The rest of the days I've done just the bike and even gave myself less calories (420 each day). I also did something I haven't done since the beginning of this program. I took a day off. Sunday I didn't work out at all since I was sore from Saturday's workout.

Now for the food. Not surprising, it was easy to add an extra shake. I've been hungrier lately and having lots of protein cravings. I have managed to stay under 8000 calories for the week but hopefully the extra shakes make up for the missed nutrition that my body needs.

So here is where I've netted out as of Tuesday. I've eaten more or less the same number of calories (8000) but less MR's and more shakes (which translates to more nutrition). My PA is down about 650 calories which puts me at around 3350 for the week - one of my all time lows since I'm typically between 4000 - 4500.

After seeing the scale not budge all weekend, I did see a 1 pound drop but that could be anything. I'll have to see what the scales at the clinic show tomorrow.

Thursday, I want to go back to running which I purposely avoided this week. I also want to incorporate more of the P90x workouts although I'm not ready to do the entire program. My body is telling me it's time to start doing some resistance training. I just need to figure out the food part. My instincts tell me to stick to the standard plan for another 20 lbs then start incorporating veggies. Stick to that until I reach goal and then transition to Healthy solutions / Phase 3.

If I can kick this plateau, I can still get below 180 this month. I hope I hope I hope!

Week 13 Weigh In

I have decided to re-write my weigh in since my last post was a bit pre-mature. I weighed in last night and showed no weight loss. I was pretty shocked. This has been a very active week for running, walking, biking. I'm doing something every day. The nurse and doctor reassured me that this is normal. To me it does not make sense.

I sat in class listening to Michelle (my health educator) talk about "More is Better". The concept is, if you're hungry, eat more in-the-box foods. They are low cal, good for you etc, you will not gain weight. The longer I sat through the discussion the more frustrated I became so I decided to talk with her after class.

Michelle looked through my food and exercise log and believes that with my increased PA, my body is holding on to some water. My TOM is also coming due which would not only contribute to the increased hunger I was having a few days ago but also some water retention. Lastly, since I ran out of cereal which I normally eat for dinner, I have been eating MR's and skipping the last shake. Since I get all my nutrition from the shakes, my body is likely irritated that it was deprived some nutrients.

So the goal for this week is: add an extra shake everyday this week to give my body the nutrients to recover from my PA and meal skipping. Hopefully my TOM will come and go. Keep up with my PA since I'm enjoying it so much.

I felt better after that conversation and plan to do as she says. Tonight, I'm going to ride my bike then soak in the jacuzzi to work out the sore kinks from my last run. I would like to run tomorrow and start Week 2 of the Couch 2 5k program. My sister has started week 2 and I need to keep up with her! :-D

Wish me luck and weight loss!

My Polar FT60 HRM

I have 4 weeks of data accumulated on my HRM and I have to say that I really like it. It gives me constant feedback on how I'm doing during my workouts, afterwards and a summary at the end of the week. There are several training programs available. Naturally, I chose Weight Loss. My first week, I was rewarded with a digital trophy on my watch display. The second week I only earned 2 stars. My last two weeks (since I've started running) I've only been given a virtual pat on the back. The program believes that I am working out too hard. This happens on the days I run, my heart rate climbs into the high category which is not ideal for fat burning.

I'm okay with that since I am gaining other benefits by incorporating running. It mixes up my PA, I get to spend some quality time outdoors, my body is revved afterwards and I've dropped 15 lbs in March. All in all, a pretty great month. 

I also opted to buy the Footpod that hooks into the laces of your shoe. It's light weight and you can't tell it's there at all. It tracks your pace and distance and communicates it all back to the watch. I believe the HRM has really helped me step up my workouts so that I don't over do or under do my exertion. 

For anyone serious about upping their PA and changing their body, an HRM is a must-have. I love mine!

I am Hungry

This weekend was fairly active starting w/ a 30 minute walk run and a 60 minute walk which totaled about 4 miles and 90 minutes of PA on Friday. Saturday, I did 60 mins on the bike and Sunday I did a 30 minute walk run / 30 minute walk which culminated in another 4 miles.

Anyway, today I'm starving. I was hungry yesterday too and I had about 1300 calories. Today I'm determined to stay to my minimums in preparation for Wednesday's weigh in.

I've decided to eat 1/2 of my shake muffin and a cup of hot green tea. Hopefully that will curb my appetite until lunch. If not, I will graze on the other half and another cup of tea. That should keep me going. I did a quick check of my blood sugar and it's 84 - so it seems I am needing something and it's not completely in my head.

I wonder if all the extra running is causing me to want to eat more. I will have to speak w/ Michelle tonight for some guidance here...

Anyway, I seem to be feeling better after my snack. Wish me luck.