Losing While I Can and Must (comment away!)

[bekkiz]

I am the kind of person who has BIG ideas--but very little follow through This is most evident in my endeavors to be healthier and slim down. Although things do pop up to make my journey harder, it's really my inability to commit that is my downfall.

However, this time, it has to work. I have no choice.

January 8th, I am scheduled for some major back surgery. I will be on bed rest for anywhere from 2-4 months and will only be able to get up for up to an hour (at first) a day.

I need to lose at least 30 lbs between then and now. In the long run, I'll need to lose much more than that. But I think 30 is an attainable goal which will make my recovery that much easier.

Since the middle of August, I have been reasonably good about exercise. We purchased a recumbent bike, as that puts less stress on my back then walking or other things. I average 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. I also walk the dog for 20-30 minutes when I can tolerate the pain (so around 4-5 days a week).

Now I need to focus on my eating. This is where it gets hard. I have the worst sweet tooth. But I don't think that's the issue. It's all of the extra calories that sneak in. The sweetened iced tea, the sprite when we're out, the heaping bowl of cereal. All of these things need to be taken care of.

I almost think it will be easier once I am on bed rest. I will instruct DH to only bring things that fit the healthy requirement!

For now, however, here is my plan. I happy to hear other's ideas or experiences with this. As an aside, I did see a nutritionist for a year in college, and lost 70 lbs, so I'm very familiar with what is good food and what isn't. The problem I have is following my own advice! Hence, the regaining of the weight.

Breakfast:
some sort of protean--> an egg white or cottage cheese
some sort of fruit or dairy
some small starch--> Kashi granola bar or whole wheat toast

Lunch and Dinner
Lean Cuisine with a salad or other vegetables (I do not have high blood pressure, so the sodium levels don't concern me at this moment)

Snacks of granola bars, yogurt, veggies or fruit.

Hopefully I can stay on track this time, and will use this journal to keep myself honest. Please feel free to yell at me if I'm slacking off! I'm also going to get a counter, I think. It'll be good to see the progress.

 

[keenercam]

Good luck and welcome to WISH!!!

Your plan sounds very do-able. Kudos to you for getting exercise in even with back pain.

Looking forward to hearing how it is going.

Your furbabies are very cute. Is the smaller one a schnauzer?

 

[bekkiz]

The little guy, the schanuzer, is ours. He is pretty cute, IMHO The German Shepard belongs to my in-laws. He and Indy were best buds until we moved. That picture was taken when Indy had been home, like, 3 days.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll post again tonight with how I did!

 

[bekkiz]

Day 1 is done...and it was a "good day."

Breakfast: 2 eggbeaters scrambled with a little onion and a little cheese on a tortilla

Lunch: Lean cuisine (chicken and spinach) and a big salad with snow peas and mushrooms and a sprinkle of Newmans light ceasar dressing

Dinner: Lean Pocket and salad (as above, but with tomatoes)

Snacks: Apple, kashi granola bar, slice of whole grain bread and pb


Excercise: I worked through the pain today
23 minute walk w/ the pup
30 minutes on bike

Although I felt hungry for parts of the day, I think that this first day shows it is a plan I can follow. There are things I can add here and there, like light yogurt or baby carrots, that will help any hungry spots.

Today will be slightly harder, as we're going to a concert and I'll eat dinner kind of early. I'm nervous about getting hungery during the concert. I'll throw a granola bar in my purse, and hopefully that will help me stay away from "bad" stuff!

More updates tomorrow

 

[eeyore25]

Hi there and welcome to WISH!!!

Your plan sounds good.....very do-able. Congrats for working out through the pain....I know it can be tough. Hang in there!!!

Your food looks good too. Great idea for keeping a granola bar in your purse for the concert. That is a great idea and will deter you from getting something that is not so good for you.

Keep up the great work!!!

Have a wonderful day

 

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi

Have a great weekend

 

[NYcpa]

Welcmome to WISH journals.

You did great with your first day of eating. Keep up the determination and you will succeed and reach your goal.

Have a great day.

 

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was a reasonably good day as well, though it was heavy on the starches and I think that leads to more feelings of hungryness (is that even a word? ! )

Breakfast:
1 envelope "weight control" oatmeal
1.5 cups of OJ

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Pizza and big salad w/sprinkling of light ceasar (this will be a theme, as you shall see!)

Dinner:
Quiznos Chicken Ceasar salad (dressing on the side, and I used the dip method--so I had some but not a lot)
It's served with a warm flatbread (delicious, but about 2 peices of bread)

Snacks:
Light string cheese, slice of whole grain bread w/pb, granola bar

Excercise:
I walked the pup for about 25 minutes
No bike today, due to my schedule being off b/c of the concert.
The concert was really fun, but with my back issues, it's really hard to sit for that long and even worse to stand, so I'm feeling pretty sore/tight this morning. And no pain meds for me, because I have to go to work!

Commitments for today: Must ride the bike. I like to hit 7 miles in 30 minutes, but lately, I've only been getting 6.5. Today I want at least 7!

 

[traceycooper]

Welcome to wish,
good luck with your new healthy eating plan, it sounds good

 

[CJK]

Glad to hear you had fun at the concert. Here's a belated welcome to WISH! It sounds like you have a very do-able goal and the drive to follow-through. Like you, I KNOW what I should be doing, but don't always follow my own advice! Thankfully, the WISH boards have really helped keep me in check. I've lost over 35lbs now and feel great. Best wishes!! I look forward to reading more about your journey!

 

[bekkiz]

Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragment! When I lost 70 lbs in college, writing down everything I ate, and having accountablity with my nutritionist really helped me to stay on top of things.

I'm hoping this WISH journal will function in the same way. So, I'm counting on all of you guys for a kick in the pants here and there

 

[bekkiz]

Felt good about today.

I had morning practice (I coach, and the kids didn't have school today) so no pain meds this morning. That part was not fun. I was counting the minutes to get home and lay down!

Breakfast:
eggbeaters scrambled with onion and some shredded cheese (more than I needed )on a tortilla
1.5 cups of OJ

I like having protean in the morning. I stay full for a long time

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Chicken, veggie and pasta bowl--you'd think with all the sodium it wouldn't be so bland, but I held back from adding anything else
Salad with light ceasar

Dinner:
I tried a Lean Pocket Sub (philly cheesesteak) but it was gross, so after a couple bites (about 1/3 of it) I threw it away and had a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch ( ) instead. Whatever, it's fine

Snacks:
Slice of whole grain bread w/ pb AND jelly, granola bar

Excercise
25 minute pup walk
30 minutes on the bike. The stupid batteries were giving out, so the thing kept resetting. I was averaging 15 mph for the 30 minutes, so if I didn't get to 7 miles, it was at least close

 

[bekkiz]

I ate more than I would have liked today, but I made smart choices, so I think it's ok. We ate out for lunch and dinner, and that adds to the amount of food!

Breakfast:
1 slice whole wheat bread w/ pb and jelly
1.5 cups OJ

Lunch:
Panera-bowl of low fat chicken noodle soup, 1/4 (1/2 of a 1/2) chicken salad sandwich and a small french baguette

Dinner:
Qdoba- 3 small soft chicken tacos w/salsa, chicken and tortilla only, a small cup of black beans

Snack:
granola bar

Excercise:
24 minute pup walk
30 har minutes on the bike--I made it up to 7.9 miles. That's the farthest I've gone in 30 minutes I usually do one of the built in programs and this one went up to level 7 (of 9) on the resistance, so I was working really hard!

I still feel really positive about this. I plan to weigh-in, so to speak, next Friday when I'm in the hospital for a CT myelogram. I'm sure I'll post more about that, as I'm a bit nervous. But I think the weigh me that day, so I'll see how 2 weeks on the "program" are treating me

 

[bekkiz]

Yesterday was not a great day, but not bad either.

Breakfast:
slice of whole wheat w/ pb and jelly
light cherry yogurt

Lunch:
Quiznos chicken ceasar salad (except I forgot about my "dip every 3rd bite" and found myself dipping every bite! So, I had more dressing than I should have)

Dinner:
salad w/ light ceasar
Mac and cheese--at first I wasn't sure about this, but it's the Aunt Annnie's from a box, and 1 serving has about 270 cals and about 4 gms. fat, so not any worse than a lean pocket or something. I probably had a little more than 1 serving, maybe 1 1/4, but it wasn't a terrible choice.

Snacks
granola bar

Excercise:
Bad day
15 minute walk w/pup (it was rainy, and I didn't feel like alonger one)
20 low intensity minutes on the bike. I didn't take any pain meds yesterday, thinking I was just hanging around the house and it would be good to have a dya off of them Well, by the end of the day, when I ride the bike, I hurt SO BAD. I wanted to get off at 10 minutes, but I compromised by staying on 20, and just not pusing too hard. I went about 3.7 miles.

I'm staying positive. I'm going to take some pain meds today, so hopefully the bike won't be such a (literal!) PITA.

My birthday is this week, though between coaching and the CT thing on friday, I won't have too much time to celebrate. I'm trying to decide if having a birthday treat is good or bad. I'll have to think about it some more.

 

[kimwim8]

WELCOME! Sounds like you're off to a good start!

As far as your birthday goes....see how you feel about it then. You might want to have a treat, and if so...go right ahead. I think most of us would do the same thing. As long as you get right back on immediately afterwards - you're allowed a treat every now and again.

Your food intake seems good. I don't know what you ate before this, but I'd say that you should definitely see a loss after 2 weeks. Especially with all of that working out too. I give you a LOT of credit for working out through the pain. You're one tough cookie!

What kinds of beverages do you drink? Do you drink a lot of water? That's definitely the key to weight loss, I've found. My nutritionist advised a minimum of 64 ounces a day, and a maximum of 1/2 your body weight in ounces.

Take care, and keep on posting! We're here for ya!

 

[CJK]

Terrific job keeping up with the exercise despite the pain. Amazing! I don't think I'd have that dedication. I understand your birthday dilemma. My b-day is at the end of October and I'm trying to figure out what to do too. Let me know what you decide. Have a great and healthy week!

 

[bekkiz]

Thank you so much for checking in and keeping me encouraged! It is hard with the excercise. I've always been a really active person (was a college athlete) but I've never had an injury of this magnitude before--where it hurts to do pretty much anything! However, I know I will have at least a few months of literally laying in bed, so I think it's better to suffer a little now, and have an easier recovery later. It's good motivation

Today was fine, although the timing was kind of weird. I woke up really early so I had breakfast early, lunch at like 11:30 and dinner around 4:30. I had my snack at "dinner time" after I got home from practice. I did have a little treat today --it's mentioned below

Breakfast:
slice of whole wheat w/pb and jelly
low fat string cheese

Lunch:
lean pocket

Dinner:
Shrimp/avocado rolls (8 slices or one whole roll) w/soy sauce
1 cup of ginger mashed sweet potatoes (they had some cream/butter I think, but no sugar)
1 fat free gingersnap cookie--when I lost all of that weight in college, these things were my godsend. They make them at Whole Foods (where I got my dinner) and I couldn't resist. It was delicious

Snack:
an oversized bowl of cinnamon toast crunch. Not the best choice, but I will live with it.

In terms of hydration, I'm not as good as I could be. I don't drink anything w/ calories but I also don't drink as much as I should. Today I had about 48 oz, mostly in bubbly, sugar free, fruit flavored water. I also had a Sprite Zero (diet, no sugar). This is an area I need to improve on, and I'll try to remember to include it on my wrap ups.

Excercise:
25 minutes walking the pup
30 medium insensity on the bike. Again, I did it at the end of the day, so the pain medication was wearing off (I have to take it in the morning, b/c I can't drive for a few hours after taking it), so there was more pain while riding. I still was able to go 6.45 miles.

 

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

So sorry for all the pain that you are having while working out. You're tough to tough it out and contune...good for you!!!

Your eating looks really good too!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Have a great day

 

[bekkiz]

I feel good about yesterday. I did get like 5 inches cut off my hair (which I've been waiting to do FOREVER), so that may have helped my feeling good

Breakfast:
1 enevlope of weight control oatmeal
an apple
1.5 cups OJ

Lunch:
Lean Cuisine Chicken and pasta in peanut sauce
Salad

Dinner:
3/4 Grilled salmon sandwich on a whole wheat bun and a little bit of tartar sauce
6 french fries ( I made a deal with myself to hold back on the tartar so I could have some french fries )

Snack:
slice of whole wheat w/ pb and jelly

I drank at least 64 oz both in plain water and in the sugar free bubbly stuff.

Excercise
24 minute walk w/ the pup
30 good minutes on the bike. I went 7.06 miles

 

[CJK]

Glad to hear you like your new due!

Great job on food, exercise and water intake!!!!! You'll be in great shape by the time that surgery comes around which should only help your recovery. Keep it up!!