Something's Afoot.

I've been getting the hour of walking in a day. Yesterday I got lost. Went above and beyond. Also tripped in a damned pothole on a cobble stone street and sprained my ankle. At least, I hope it's just a sprain. There's not a whole lot of swelling. Some movement restriction. Slight bruising. I'm thinking I need an x-ray. 

I am obsessed with breaking my feet/ankles. I broke one of the bones mid-foot when I started college and it put me in a freakin' cast/boot for more than half a semester. I'm very careful on stairs now. And any small injury is pretty bleak in my head. So I'm probably blowing this out of proportion. But I'm still going to get an x-ray. Because when I broke one of the mid-foot bones, I was able to let it heal without surgery because I didn't walk around on it and disturb the fracture. I am about 25% worried. 

Also, yesterday I fell into a pit of carbs. As far as calories are concerned, I was probably just over 2000. (I had dinner at a restaurant with my friend Laura, so the count is not really precise). So the number isn't terrible, but the quality of those calories.. not the greatest. 

So yesterday was a fail on the eating. Today is going to be much better. Started off with a bunch of cherry tomatoes (one of my favorite health foods)... packed my lunch today tuna salad. Going to go home for dinner and make chicken cutlet/ feta/spinach pitas. 

I haven't made it to an OA meeting yet. But I still have until Sunday... maybe a Friday night date with myself.

Big Fat X-Ray Love, 

Nanette 

Self Challenge and a Techno wave

Weight: 307.8 (-2.5) GOOD FREAKIN' MORNING!
Water: no idea.
Work outs: 1 yoga session, 10 squats every morning and all the walking and stairs that go with being a New Yorker.
No Going Out/In: 7/7 days!!!  100%.
No Breads: 4/7 days.

Okay. So I can easily affiliate the number on the scale with how much I've been ordering out/in.

WHEN I COOK, I LOSE WEIGHT. 

A big no-duh, right? Well, sometimes if you're obstinate, you have to figure it out the hard way. And I would say I didn't even cook that clean or healthily. Burgers without bread. Homemade chicken pizzas on pitas. Black bean and veg burritos. A huge salad here and there. In the morning, Q'ia or a small protein shake w/ hazelnut milk.

I've created my weekly grocery shopping template - and only buy when I run out. 

Shopping List...
Q'ia
Vanilla Shake
Hazelnut milk
Apples
Spinach or kale... something green and leafy, preferably on sale.
Shredded carrots
Cucumbers
Baby tomatoes
Sprouts.
Boiled eggs (buying 'em fresh obviously).
Oranges or kiwis or berries depending on sales.
Protein bar (from doc's office).
Meats - chicken cutlets, small steaks, pork chops (morton williams)
Cheeses - Shredded/crumbled Feta, Pecorino Romano, Mozzarella, or Parmesan. 
Cottage Cheese
String cheese 
Fresh Garlic
Basil Red Sauce or pesto sauce.
Black beans.
Pitas. 
Peanut butter

Yeah... there's space for trimming that back to an even healthier list. Good room to grow. It's definitely better and more affordable than the Order In Every Other Night Diet.

Despite my reservations, I'm going to attend an Over-eaters Anon meeting this upcoming week. Because I seriously need a social life aside from my roommates and the boys I've dated... and because I have a serious issue with food, emotions, control and satiety. I have a hard time with the 12 step idea. Because as much as it says it's not a religious thing, it's constantly referring to Higher Power... etc. etc. etc. Due my naturally contrary nature, I can see that being an obstacle. Also, I'm deeply NOT a spiritual person. It's a thing.

On the only-sort-relevant-to-weight-loss front...  

• The kitty knocked my laptop off the end table and broke it. 
• My smart phone came in (I'm back on myfitnesspal daily now). 
• And I financed a new laptop yesterday - normally not something I do, but since freelance is a source of income, I justified it. 

So I'm riding a new technology wave. Do you guys have any favorite apps? C25k? Runtracker? 

THIS WEEK...
7 hours of walking (1 hour per day hopefully).
Track Calories

Big Fat Walk It Off Love,
Nanette

Weigh in: Week 3

Weight: 310.3 (+.3)
Waist: 46.5" (-0)
Hydration: 100oz 4/7 days
No White Death: 4/7 days. 
Yoga: 2/3 days.

Current Frustration: How fickle my willpower has been. AKA: My ability to take control, to take responsibility and make good choices for my body...   FICKLE.

It's not food. It's not situational. It's just that I am incredibly weak at making goals and following through right now. I also know that I have the ability to change that for myself.

My pattern...

Breakfast: The day starts off great. Supplements: E (skin), EFAs (heart), D (mood/energy) and Zinc (immunity). Always a healthy breakfast, Q'ia (buckwheat, hemp, chia) with vanilla almond milk. Throw an apple and and orange in my bag for "hold you over" snacks.

Mid morning. Eat a fruit. Drink a lot of water.

Lunchtime: Keep working.. or commuting. Thinking "I'll grab something when I get off the train." or "I'll take my lunch when it slows down."

Mid afternoon: REALLY hungry. Eat a fruit (blood sugar spike, anyone?). Start contemplating what I'm going to eat when I get home or off work. If I'm at the doc's office (2 days a week), I buy a protein bar. If I'm at kidville, I just bite the bullet. Sometimes the birthday parties at kidville have left over pizza. I'll eat a slice. Or the toppings off a slice when I'm trying to satiate the smart inner person that's already mad at me for the pizza decision.

Dinner: Healthy Decision Day - Eat something from the fridge... salad or tuna sandwich (extra fiber, buckwheat bread) or cottage cheese. Sometimes I'll make a burger or pasta, then feel pride for making something and apathy for the weight I know it will prevent me from shedding.

Most Other Days - Order something in. Sometimes a salad. But too often a sandwich, or pizza. 

Post Dinner:  Still "hungry," at this point I'm sure I'm just excited to be able to eat. Make a snack. Sometimes a few nuts. Sometimes some cheese. Sometimes the rest of the pizza...

Hour later still...   Too full. Drink a bunch of water - probably what I needed about an hour earlier.

I can see where I digress. I can see my rationale. I recognize my laziness. And the morning self gets so mad at me for shifting my accountability mid-day. I recognize that I need to keep focused after 12:00pm and commit to the goals I set for myself. 

On the positive side, my trains haven't been working properly so I'm getting 2 miles of walking on Saturdays and Sundays.

GOALS
No ordering in/out. I will prepare all the food that goes in my mouth.
No breads/pastas.
Yoga 3x.
Blog more...   it keeps your brain in the game.

And a reminder... 

This isn't about anyone but you, Nanette. This is about feeling great. This is about building yourself UP by building positive habits and lifestyle. You will only benefit from these rules and goals. There is NO DOWN SIDE. Stop fighting your own success.

Big Fat STUBBORN Love,
Nanette N.

Looking For Recipes!

I failed miserably at the no bread/white death challenge. I'm extending it on top of the next challenge. Not ordering out/in.

Before I grocery shop, I wanted to throw out a question to you guys...

What are your favorite, healthy quick-fix meals/snacks?

I usually wind up just eating the same boring salad (spinach, carrots, mushrooms, baby tomatoes, cheese and oil/vinegar), cottage cheese or nuts. Do you guys have any favorite 5-10 minute meals?

Weigh in tonight (terrified that I don't get to do it naked in the AM after a good poop). We'll see what's been going on in this body this week.

Big Fat Curious Love,
Nanette

An Unexpected Evening

My second shift was cancelled today... So I had an early afternoon home time.

The no bread thing is so much harder. This morning I was offered a free bagel breakfast sandwich. I declined. On my way home from work, I stopped into the CVS to grab tampons... Instantly..

"I want candy!"
"no."
"Okay! Cookies"
"no."
"Man, I could go for.."
"SHUT UP ALREADY AND THINK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE INTERESTING THAN WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR FACE NEXT."

I made it to the train with just my tampons... and a couple bottles of nail polish. If I must treat myself, it doesn't need to be with food. And I really don't like collecting a whole lot of things, so this may be more fiscally responsible in the long run.

Between the train and home, I stopped by a different store so I could pick up something that would resemble carb-less lunch. Beef Jerky, Tuna, Green beans, String cheese (not to be consumed all at once).

Got home. Crashed. Ate the jerky, fell asleep... for 3 hours. I haven't had a nap since throat infection days at the sublet. I only felt about 10% bad about sleeping my time off away. I woke up and watched "LBS" on netflix. I recommend it...

It's about this Italian family guy who has to isolate himself pretty much to lose weight. He binges like a champion. And eventually picks up a healthier lifestyle and returns to the city. It's neat because the actor/character actually loses the weight during the filming process. No fat suits. Nothing like that.

But at the same time, I didn't like that it's telling me that I need isolation to lose weight. I mean... Idaho was kind of that way. And I isolated myself from friends and any food related social behaviors (aka the majority of them). So I guess that's true. It just makes me feel a touch hopeless in the roommate situation and not being able to remove myself from temptation, but actually face it 24 hours a day. There's no protective place of only good choices.

I took a walk after and went to a grocery store so I could load up on salad fixin's for the next few days. Just needed to get a body in motion. It's a good way to catch up on the podcasts - WHERE THEY TALK ABOUT THINGS BESIDES FOOD and are advertisement free. I'd say the walk is the closest thing I have to temptation free time. Podcast. House keys and no debit/cash.

When I got home, the roommates had ordered in Italian food. Bread, pasta, pizza, calamari and one roommate had baked "boyfriend" cookies... aka candy held together by just enough pudding mix laden dough to deem it a cookie.

I put the salad away. I drank some water. Water sends the signal we're full, right? I ate a couple things of string cheese. Played with the cats. Isolated myself to my room...   drawing, reading, listening to stuff. Eventually I gave in and ate one of the cookies. Savored it, really. But it's not a good start to the No White Death Goal...

On the up (technically down) side, The unbloat is happening! whoo-hooo!!!

Big Fat Typing instead of eating an entire tray of cookies Love,
Nanette

10:59 and all is... stationary.

Weight: 310 (-0)
Waist: (in the A.M.)
Hips: (in the A.M.)
Hydration: Avg - 80oz per day
Workouts: Two 30 min interval runs 3 min run, 1.5 min walk.

BLOATED... SO BLOATED.

Didn't eat sugar. Definitely ate a whole ton of salt and carbs. To which I say BLOAT (and probably fat).

Sugar wasn't much of a challenge. I did a single fasting day... Okay...   not 100% fasting. I had two shot glasses of chia seed w/ almond milk. It's supposed to help move things along on the digestive track. Not that I'm having any problems, but I'm sure it could use a little spring cleaning.

I got as far down as 309.2lbs this week. Not a huge victory there.

I did not do the band workouts. My new shoes came in and I was really excited to run them around. So I'm going to commit to three band workouts this week in addition to a run.

GOAL
3 arm workouts.
1 run.
1 yoga.

Minimum. 


GOAL
No White Death (aka: white carbs like breads, pastas, etc).

This week's food goal is going to be tough. It's targeting my favorite food group. Pasta. Lasagna. Pizza. (yes. I'm garfield apparently - Incidentally, I also hate Mondays). Bagels. Sandwiches.

It's going to be a whole lot of yogurt, cheese, lunch meat, veggies, seeds and fruits. Like it should always be, right? I know of a good salad bar near both my places of work. One of them even has a great juice bar... Beet, Carrot and Apple. mmm.

Baby steps i'm not sure is 100% working for me, but this week I've gone from the wobbly shuffle of a toddler to the leap of a ballet dancer... this no sugar vs. no grain carbs. Let's see what this does to the weight.

I'm absolutely positive that I need to get back to calorie tracking just to see exactly the kind of damage I've been doing with my diet habits as of late. Next week, I get my smart phone and that will become 100% easier to update constantly and honestly.

Big Fat NO WHITE DEATH Love,
Nanette N.

Self Challenge Week 1

Weight: 310 (-1.4)
Waist: 46.5" (-0.5) The un-bloat!
Hips: 63.5 (0.5)
Hydration: 150 oz. 2/7...   over 100oz 7/7. Still working on the water consumption.
Workouts: Three 30 min sessions of yoga.

This week's goal: NO SWEETS & STRENGTH BUILDING

The holidays were a huge candyfest. Which has led to a huge cravingfest. The plan... Went shopping last night. The house is clear of sweets. Sweets aren't a big huge battle for me, but I'm expecting that this will help sweep the sugar from the edges of my eating.

I'm going to try again on the hydration thing. Since doing it, my weight has been consistent... it's fluctuating less dramatically. It feels like I can trust the progress on the scale when it's fluctuating less.

Non-Scale Victory has been getting back to yoga. Been feeling it in my shoulders and arms the most. Flexibility is improving slightly. I feel like a sissy from where I was with fitness to where I am today. And those self-defeating thoughts are not how I'm going to get it back. I've unpacked my elastic tubing and I'll be working the arm/shoulder area this week (at least 3 times).

Bicep 3x 15 reps.
Tricep 3x 15 reps
Chest Press 3x 15 reps, 30 sec hold
Lat Lifts 3x 15 reps, 30 sec hold.
Plank 60 seconds

It should make Downward Facing Dog a little easier and more fluid.

Hoping to get my smartphone this week! Soon I'll be able to carry the myfitnesspal app with me and track food more easily for the upcoming weeks.

Big Fat Love,
Nanette

Self-Challenge Begins. Stats.

I've deleted all my old stats so I can't look at them and think, "Oh how far I've fallen." Because I'm definitely thinking it. I just don't want the constant reminder.

Starting anew.

Weight: 311.4 -------------> Goal: 250 (-61.4)
Waist: 47" ------------------>Goal: 41"
Hips: 63" ------------------->Goal: 58"

First Month Photos...

I'm on Day Two of 150oz of water.

Yesterday, I made it to 116oz. Today to ensure my success, I've started off with 48oz. I've also bleached out my nalgene bottle for the week.

I did 15 min of yoga this morning. I am going to do another 15 min before bed. Working at a desk for 8+ hours a day and then having built different muscles from all the NYC-style walking... I've developed some serious stiffness.

When I was in swim class, for our final we had to do reports on the weekly health articles the teacher assigned for us to read. One of them was the importance of spinal flexibility with aging. It then quoted some study about seated forward bends. You know, the ones where you sit with your legs straight in front of you and you reach for your toes...   something about that is supposed to be indicative of how well your spine will age. (I'm screwed, I've never been able to do that). I like the standing forward bends. I need gravity to help push me around.

Having sorta lost a lot of the flexibility I worked on gaining this last year, I can definitely say I feel 10 years older. Time to get it back.

When I am fatter... I feel OLDER.

This week I'm concentrating on HYDRATION and FLEXIBILITY.

Big Fat Floaty and Floppy Love,
Nanette