Haven't Given Up

I don't want anyone to think I have given up here, because I haven't. I have just been really busy with school that's all. However, I am sticking with eating fruits and veggies all day and then just having whatever we happen to be having for dinner, although I am still mostly cooking our meals instead of doing takeout. Only done takeout I think three times since I started this. That is wayyyyy less than before, when we did three in a week at the very least. So far I have lost 12 pounds. That is far from being enough, but it's a heck of a good start. Once I get more time I inted to keep up on this a lot better than I have been.

Lemon "Tea"

Ok, so there was a lemon "tea" that the woman on one of the blogs I follow. I tried it one morning, and it wasn't so great. I used a wedge of lemon but I do not think I let it steep long enough. Plus, I didn't add any kind of sweetener. So yesterday I made it again, this time I made sure the water was plenty hot enough and I let it steep for quite a while. Plus, I added a little bit of honey to it. It wasn't too bad. Today, I actually used a half a lemon, cut into two wedges, and added the honey. I am drinking it right now and it is actually pretty good. And I must say that it certainly does seem to help "move things along". The only problem that I might have with it is when it decided to get things moving. Will not be good if I am driving along on the bus when it occurs. lol
I am hoping to see some results much sooner than that, since I have a couple hours before I have to be back on the bus.

So I haven't been eating as many fruits and vegetables the last few days. That is not because I don't want to but simply due to budget issues. I get my first paycheck since being back to work tomorrow (and it is going to be a good one, too) so I will be able to go shopping. However, I have been still watching what I eat. I have been having bran cereal for breakfast, some fruits and veggies for lunch, and then a decent dinner. It is working, too. I have lost almost 10 pounds since starting this. And yesterday I stepped on the scales just for the heck of it AFTER I had eaten, and it still shows that I have lost weight. So I am excited to see what the scale says on Saturday morning when I step on them to record my loss. I did not post for last weeks weight loss simply because I wanted to make sure it was for real. If it all stays off until this Saturday THEN I will feel confident enough to post it. Unfortunately, I have not had time to jump on and record everything I have eaten each day. A couple more weeks and I should have more time, once I am done this horrible algebra class.

Ok, back to the grind. I promise to keep posting.

Been a few days...

It has been a few days since I last posted. I have been busy with my schoolwork. Algebra is a tough subject for me, so this week back to school I have had to focus on that. However, I only have it for a few more weeks and then I will have more time. After this class is over I will be taking more Psychology classes and since those are relatively easy for me it will give me more time for other stuff.

I have actually been doing quite well this week. I weighed in yesterday and I have lost about 7 pounds. I am trying to keep both my breakfast and lunch meals meat free. Mostly fruits and vegetables, although I have had Bran cereal for a couple of breakfasts. The problem that I am having is that the fruits and vegetables make me extremely gassy, so that is a problem I have had to deal with this week. I am hoping that my body will adjust. For the time being I have been taking some gas relief pills, which seem to help some.

I have been keeping watermellon, bananas, grapes and other fruits in the house to munch on. As I stated when I first started this, I am not out to lose a bunch of weight all at once. Sure, that would be awesome, but it just isn't realistic and it wouldn't last. So I still have meat for dinner, but I am eating less at that meal than I used to. Also, I am drinking water all the time, just as I have for the last few years, but I am also drinking V8 juice plus fruit juices as well.

I can say that these foods have certainly gotten things "moving along". Which is good because that is a problem that I have battled for the last few years as well. So anything that can help me out with that certainly makes me feel a bit better.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I am still on this journey. I just had to take a little detour this week. Chances are that until I finish this Algebra class I probably won't find too much time to post, except maybe on Sundays because normally everything is done for the week ahead of time. This coming week, which starts tomorrow I will have a quiz that I will need to work on. With quizzes I am not able to get the extra help that I can get with other assignments so it makes for a very long week for me. I am hoping that the extra work I did this past week will come in handy and help me out a lot. That way I will have more time to focus on my blog.

Have a great week and I will post whenever I get the chance.

End of Day 2

Today I started back to school so tonight has been busy. I had to get my homework done (algebra ick) and that took me quite a while. However, I made supper tonight and was pleasantly surprised when my fiance had some cucumbers with dip and a small glass of V8 juice with it. We have been together a long time and I have never seen him drink V8, so this was really nice.

We had the left over fried chicken from last night, along with potatoes and gravy again. This time I had half of a cucumber with dip with it instead of the other raw vegetables. I also realized that maybe I did not eat as much dip earlier today as I thought because this time I actually scooped out 2 tablespoons of the dip and it turns out to be quite a lot actually.

Anyway, my intake for today was:

Breakfast:                Calories                  Fat
6 oz yogurt                     80                     0
1 cup grapes                  110                   .3
1/2 orange                      35                   .2
1 banana                       105                   .4

Snack
8 oz. V8 juice                  60                    0

Lunch
Peppers                          80                    0
carrots                           70                    0
dip                                 70                   5.2

Dinner
Potatoes                       145                   7
Chicken                        150                   8
Dip                               120                  10
1/2 Cucumber                 20                    0
8 oz V8 Juice                   60                    0 
Totals                                  1090                          31.1

There is definetly the possibility that I got in a few more calories and fat grams, but even if that is true, either way you look at it I still came in below my levels, so I am happy with it. Oops, I had an apple for snack a couple hours after lunch. Still, I don't think that puts my numbers up a whole lot, do you?

Well, tomorrow is another day and at least before the day is over I will be able to go shopping and stock up on some healthy food. I am starting to really look forward to all of this. It seems that all I do is eat, yet the calorie and fat intake is really low. This gives me more room to indulge myself just a bit. Perhaps I can have a little more of this or a little more of that, we shall see. One thing I want to have some of is fruit juices. I do love them but you are always hearing about how bad the sugars in them can be for you, something I never really understood. If you get real fruit juice there should be no added sugar. And how can that juice be bad for you if the fruit itself is supposed to be good? Either way, I intend to pick some up tomorrow. I am a sucker for both orange and apple juice, and maybe I'll try some different kinds in order to give myself more options.

Have a great night, I'll be back tomorrow.

Day 2 cont.

So I just ate my lunch..and it was really good too. I had 1/2 of a cucumber, carrot sticks, and pepper slices with light veggie dip and with that I had 8 oz. of V8 juice. Now I am going to have a slice of watermelon. For this meal I am not overly concerned about the calories because with all the veggies I had I really only need to count the fat grams. I know the veggie dip is 60 calories in 2 tablespoons with 5 grams of fat. I am sure I probably had at least 6 tablespoons of the dip. So thats about 15 grams of fat....along with the less than one gram I had for breakfast. As for the calories themselves, well, I figure about 60 - 80 for the veggies I ate, and there are 60 in the V8 juice. So that isn't too bad of a meal and I am stuffed. However, I feel like something sweet so that is where the watermelon comes in. It is way better for me than the Christmas candy that is sitting in my living room.

Also, I walked today, but only for 15 minutes. The reason for this is simple: Dr.'s orders. Because of all the physical  stuff I have been doing lately my back is now bothering me. My doctor told me to walk, but only until it bothers my back. I have walked longer in the past, but that was without doing all the other physical things that I have done the last few days. So, I am resting my back for the remainder of the day and maybe by the time I get home from work I will feel up to walking some more.

Now, I am off here to enjoy my watermelon before I have to head back to work in less than an hour.

Day 2

Yesterday, even though I did not have a difficult day as far as being hungry, I did realize that I had not gotten in more than 1000 calories. So, what I did was after I wrote up my entry I had another cup of grapes. This put me over 1000, but I really wasn't exactly hungry when I ate them. I need to spread the calories out over the day. Planning out my meals will help me in this. I am not going to let this get me down by any means. Instead, I will just take that step forward to make sure that I plan ahead and get in the calories I need, and not the ones that I WANT.

By doing that I made a change today. For breakfast I had a 6 oz. banana yogurt with 80 calories, 0 fat, 1 cup grapes with 110 calories, .3 g fat, 1/2 of an orange, 35 calories, .2 g fat, and a banana, 105 calories, .4 g fat. Then I had 8 oz of V8 juice which contains 60 calories, 0 fat. So my total so far today is 385 calories and less than a gram of fat. I think this is pretty good.

For lunch I plan to have some carrot sticks, peppers, and cucumbers with veggie dip and probably some watermelon and maybe an apple after that. If I have the time that is. Lunch is difficult because I get caught up in doing my school work and lose track of time. This is something I need to work on so that I make time for everything. I prefer to exercise in between my bus runs, but I have been thinking that I may have to start getting up earlier and doing it first thing in the morning. If I do it that way I have the opportunity for my metabolism to get jacked up before I have even begun my day. Also, it gives me the chance to get some extra walking in later in the day if I choose.

The other idea was to do it either right before dinner or right after. The problem with this is that I do not want to get my body going too close to bedtime because that can actually make it harder to get to sleep. I am going to try it both ways and see which I like best.

Fiber

So I realized today that I also need a decent amount of fiber in my diet. I found this website http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/List_of_High_Fiber_Foods.shtml and it shows a list of high fiber foods. Unfortunately for me, I do not like a lot of these foods. However, there are some of these foods that I really do like. One of these is oatmeal. I also really like bran cereals, so I figure it may be in my best interest to pick some up. I already have some oatmeal in my cupboard.

A lot of the highest fiber vegetables are just things I don't like. But that is fine because I can make up for it in other ways. One way is by drinking V8 juice, which contains 5 grams of fiber in an 8 oz. glass. Since I really enjoy V8 juice this shouldn't be much of a problem. Not only that but neither my fiance or the kids like it, so when I buy it at least I get it all. That is what my snack for the moment is as well. :-)