Monday progress report

I am finally, FINALLY starting to feel better regarding my body. Feeling good about myself creates the inertia I need to stick with ETL. I weighed in this morning:

126.6 / 26%

Down 3.4 lbs from the last weigh-in 3 weeks ago but up 1% in BF. Not sure what that indicates...? I do know that my pants are feeling looser which I like.

Since I'm trying to incorporate some of the Beck ideas again, here is a list of the things I've been good about this week (aka giving myself credit!):

• I had a green smoothie for breakfast every weekday morning (I had long workouts on the weekends and didn't eat breakfast)


• On Thursday, there was a low-key "race" event where I only had ONE slice of pizza at the post-race buffet table and then came home and ate several cups of steamed broccoli.


• At two social meals over the weekend, I didn't cave in and ordered vegetarian fare while my companions ordered pancakes, omelets with cheese, and bacon.


• At a group dinner out, where I was under more stress than usual (try having a group dinner where an ex-boyfriend shows up and you're trying to meet guys!), I chose to order a vegetables and brown rice dish off the menu instead of what everyone else was having.


• I completed all my workouts (not sure if I should give myself credit for this since this is almost always true!).

This is what I'd like to accomplish this week:

• Get more sleep! I am much less likely to make bad decisions when rested. I'm going to aim for getting 7+ hours at least 5 days this week.


• Start doing pilates again. My midsection is where I gain the most weight (and probably why my pants get tight). My goal is to do a pilates video at least 2x this week.


• Stop eating junk food in front of the computer. This is a horrible habit of mine. Some people eat in front of the TV - my "TV" is the computer.


• Remind myself that I do not need to be 100% perfect. If I slip up, just say "oh well" and get right back on track.


• Weigh-in next Monday and report! I'll feel much more accountable if I know I have to report back.

I haven't given up

I could tell you about how busy I've been with a roommate moving out, a few more dates I've been on, social events I've planned and attended, and long bike rides I've been on, but it doesn't matter in the end... I've neglected this blog! In doing so, I also fell back into some old patterns of SAD-eating. I've done okay this past weekend, still having green smoothies and salads, but I've let too many treats back into my daily meals.

I've decided I don't think I can do the "6-week plan"... at least not right now. That probably should have been obvious with all the breaks in the actual 4 weeks that I did it. Instead, I'd like to concentrate on developing a more consistent ETL approach to my daily food. I seem to go through periods of "perfect" meals and then weekends of horribly sugary, fatty, salty foods. I may still post daily food, and I'll keep weighing in weekly to track my progress, but I'm not going to commit to a certain time period. This is a lifestyle after all...

Day 27 & 28

I am still eating too much sugar and obviously not 100% ETL-compliant.

Tuesday
7:00 am - (during workout) - 90 cal of a sports drink

9:00 am - 4 figs

11:00 am - 1 cup beans, 4 cups salad greens, 2 T pumpkin seeds
- kale, mushroom, broccoli mixture in tomato sauce
- about 4 cups watermelon
- 1 banana

6:00 pm - homemade bean burrito (beans, whole wheat tortilla, lots of cabbage)

E - bike: 1:15, run: 0:30

Today wasn't much better, except that I exercised a lot.

Wednesday (today)

8:00 am - bagel

12:00 pm - lentil, kale, and collards stew

7:30 pm - (dinner with friend): veggie burger, a few fries

E - bike: 0:55, swim: 1:00

Weighing in

Even though I've been dreading it, I finally weighed in on Monday. I decided I need some kind of measure of progress besides "my pants feel tight" and may try weighing daily for motivation. I am hoping seeing the scale Friday morning will motivate me not to indulge too heartily over the weekend.

It was bad:
130.0 / 25% BF

Yikes! I knew it was going to be high since my pants DO feel tight and I cannot even get into certain skirts but I had no idea it was that bad. Consider that I was 117 back in January when I was doing well with ETL and had only 10 lbs left to go. Oh well, I'm not too demoralized. I know I can get back there.

P.S. I know the body fat indicators aren't very accurate but I want to track and see it go down.

Days 24 - 26

It was a busy holiday weekend and there was some straying, but it could have been worse. I've kept track each day so here is the last few days with my notes.

Saturday I had a company party to attend. I had no idea what they were going to serve. Last year it was BBQ fare (burgers, hot dogs, potato salad) but luckily this time it was Mexican themed, so there were some other options.

8:00 am - (during workout): 2 powerbar gel blocks

1:00 pm - salad: romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, avocado, carrots
- mushroom, kale, broccoli mixture with tomato sauce

6:30 pm - (company party): beans, salad mix, 1 flour tortilla, guacamole, 1 bite of some kind of marinated beef, 1 cookie

E - bike: 2:00, run: 0:30

Sunday I decided to sleep in, and as a result, started my workout at 10 am! I ended up finishing around 1:00 pm and was already running late for a birthday party I attended an hour away. Unfortunately, I didn't get to pre-eat like I had planned so I ended up at the party STARVING and ate too much.

11:00 am - (during workout): 3 powerbar gel blocks

1:00 pm - plum I grabbed on the way out

5:00 pm - (Chinese-themed birthday dinner): 2 vegetarian egg rolls, 4 vegetarian dumplings, 1 small piece lobster, about 1/4 cup jellyfish salad, green beans, about 1/2 cup noodles, slice of birthday cake

E - bike: 1:30, run: 1:00

I stayed up late Sunday night trying to prep for the week. I found so many melons in the fridge from various social parties I've been to and tried blending them as the primary fruit in my smoothies this week. It was okay, but very watery.

9:00 am - green smoothie: 12 oz honeydew and cantaloupe, 1 T flax seed, 6 oz organic salad greens, 4 oz apple juice

1:00 pm - salad: mixed salad greens and spinach, mixed berries, 2 T pumpkin seeds
- mushroom, kale, broccoli mixture with tomato sauce
- about 1/2 cantaloupe
- small pc (1/2 cup?) of apple pie

7:00 pm - (dinner at friend's house): 1/4 head of cabbage (boiled), about 6 vegetarian dumplings

E - swim: 1:00

Day 23

If you read the post below, you may have guessed that there was some unplanned eating yesterday. You would be right. Some friends and I do an annual swim on the 4th of July, which we celebrated yesterday. There was the celebratory brunch afterward which was not met with great choices, and then an evening date later at a burger joint that definitely did not include good choices.

10:00 am - egg white omelet with tomatoes and mushrooms, 1 slice raisin bread, coffee, half of the breakfast potatoes on my plate

2:00 pm - great greens

7:30 pm - hamburger and a few french fries, about 1/4 of a giant cupcake

E - swim: 1:00

Would you date a vegan?

I'm trying online dating, which is making dates somewhat challenging. It is one thing if you're vegetarian, because you can almost always find something on the menu, without drawing too much attention. But I feel that sticking to strict ETL, it is hard to order anything but a salad. I don't come out and tell people I am "vegan" or even "vegetarian" because I don't feel that I am. I'm a nutritarian, but hardly anyone knows what that means!

Most guys I meet claim to "love to eat", and seem disappointed that they can't take a girl out for pizza and burgers. I would never ask anyone to eat the way I do, just to respect my choices as I do theirs. But I get the impression they feel judged for their choices.

I went out on 2 first dates recently -- one to a burger joint and another to a brewery. I had a burger at the burger place and felt horrible about it afterward. But I had justified it in my mind. I didn't want to seem "different" or "weird" when it's already so difficult for me to meet guys to begin with. I didn't want to provide a reason for someone NOT to date me. That sounds silly as I read it. My logical side says that I shouldn't be compromising my values and that I shouldn't date anyone who doesn't accept who I am anyway. Uh huh. A bit easier said than done.

Day 22: It's the collards!

Definitely the collards. My morning smoothie was gross this morning. I think I'll stick with kale, spinach, bok choy -- or any other greens except collards!

Except for the cheese, today was a decent day.

9:00 am - green smoothie: 12 oz fruit (oranges and plums), 1 T flax seed, 7 oz collards

1:00 pm - lentil soup, figs

7:00 pm - broccoli, tomatoes, and mushrooms, sunflower seeds, 1 whole wheat english muffin, about 1 oz cheese

E - run: 0:40

Day 21

I didn't enjoy my morning smoothie as much this morning. I really wanted something warm this morning and the smoothie wasn't cutting it. Because I wasn't satisfied, I reached out for some sunflower seeds.

I went out to dinner with a friend tonight and we went to a vegetarian Indian restaurant. There was probably too much salt and oil, but I tried my best.

9:00 am - green smoothie: mixed fruit, 1 T flax seed, 6-7 oz collards, 2 oz sunflower seeds

1:00 pm - salad: 1 roma tomato, 1/2 cucumber, 1 small avocado, romaine lettuce, carrots

7:00 pm - Indian restaurant: eggplant and pigeon pea curry, chickpea curry, potato dosa

E - bike: 0:55