Everyday Systems

Woke up with headache and unhappy tummy. Good news: did not have to take any meds. This would never have happened before vegan/No S.

AM: Elliptical trainer x 15 minutes. Calorie counter way off. Did intervals.
Walk: 21 minutes.
Break walk #1: 21 minutes.
Break walk #2: 30 minutes.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 12 minutes.

Gym: 25 minutes upper body weights. 3 circuits including 3 sets of pushups, 15, 15, 10.

B: Multigrain kashi (gotta love it), banana/peach/raisin/pumpkin fruit mix, rice protein, flax, rice milk

L and D: salad (romaine, garden onion, garden carrots, garden tomatoes, garden bell pepper, broccoli, celery), taco flavored split peas, vietnamese onion bits, faux bacon bits, crumbled corn tostadas (1/svg); banana/peach/raisin/pumpkin fruit mix.

Back to 3 cups of coffee.
2.5 L water
1 cup green tea after work

SUCCESS

Whatanupper (heavy sarcasm): someone in the gym this morning thought I had "brain damage". I have a limp from being run over 17 years ago; had 3 ankle surgeries, but my brain is OK. Same lady thought my face was, however, "thin enough" to work with my buzz cut.

Well, hooray hooray.

AM walk: 54 minutes.
Break walk #1: 20 minutes.
Break walk #2: 10 minutes (dr's appointment; abbreviated day).

Total walk time: 1 hour, 24 minutes.

Gym: 22 minutes lower body weights.

B: Multigrain kashi, banana/peach/pumpkin raisin mix, rice milk, flax, rice protein

L and D: Garlic pasta with pistachios and split peas, salad, garden zucchini and tomatoes, banana/peach/pumpkin raisin mix

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

Lab work all good, vitamin D level went from 19 to almost normal at 28.8,
cholesterol 154.

SUCCESS

WOW! I can't imagine saying something that personal to a stranger!

Fantastic blood work! Are you taking vitamin D? I started last year and will get a level this fall. Have heard that lots of folks are low.

And you are down again!!



Resting

resting52 wrote:WOW! I can't imagine saying something that personal to a stranger!

Fantastic blood work! Are you taking vitamin D? I started last year and will get a level this fall. Have heard that lots of folks are low.

And you are down again!!



Resting

Resting,

Yes, I am taking 2000 IU every day. I thought that was too much, but obviously my numbers say I need to keep doing it. Apparently vegans do not absorb non-animal D2 as well as D3 so have to take more.

Well not today, it's the same, but it's not up.

f

AM walk: 34 minutes including 20 minutes on treadmill @ 6 cal/min intervals.
Break walk #1: 18 minutes.
Break walk #2: 36 minutes.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.

No weights today, rest day.

Elliptical trainer: 16 minutes at 8.25 cal/min.

B: Oatmeal with rice protein, flax, fresh peaches and bananas.

L and D: Faux chicken on homemade rye bread, garlic/chili sauce; salad, fresh peaches and bananas.

3 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

I had to go back to make this a failure because I had about 1/2 cup pumpkin that my husband foisted upon me in my studio when I got home because "he was too full". I don't know why he didn't put it in the damn refrigerator, or why I ate it.

HOWEVER, that being said, later that night, when I was hungry for the first time since starting No S (I can't imagine why.... ), I did NOTGIVE IN. It was a big fight, but

THE COOKIES DIDN'T WIN!

So it's only a partial FAILURE

Bimonthly lovely Errands in City Walk: One hour, 7 minutes, 210 calories.

B: Chinese Elvis Sandwich (peanut butter, banana, garlic/chili sauce) on whole wheat toast with added protein and flax, a whopping 583 calories. Not doing that again.... 20% protein though.

L: Fruit Salad at Central Market (cantaloupe, strawberries, raisins, mandarin oranges, dash peanuts, wasabi bits), followed by (bliss!) chocolate soy gelato cone!!!!!

D: Pistachio pasta, garlic bread, salad, faux scampi scallops made with tofu riff on recipe found at hezbollahtofu.blogspot.com.

SUCCESS

fkwan vs the cookies........................

and the winner is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU!

One hour 7 minutes around the perimeter.

B: Chinese Elvis sandwich optimized: Whole wheat toast, banana, peanut butter, garlic/chili sauce, protein, flax; about 550 damned calories.

D: 3 bean/cheese tacos (bad, bad vegan, but not much cheese in them), salad, faux chicken (way too much of), garden zucchini and tomatoes, spanish rice.

Roughly 2000 calories.

SUCCESSFUL ROTTEN S DAY

Only estimated, fully dressed on scale.

Back to normalcy, thank the universe. I hate weekends. I admire the No S principles, but I have to admit I don't like being "free" and eating more than one serving of whatever, even though I know that whatever I see on the scale does not reflect an actual weight gain. I don't think someone like me, with a history of eating problems since birth, can ever be truly, truly "normal" and not have to think about eating. Interestingly enough, the more I indulge, even if I'm watching myself on a weekend, the worse I feel -- and this is just plain indulgence, not bingeing.

I love returning to Monday. I confess I love the structure.

AM walk: 33 minutes.
Break walk #1: 23 minutes.
Break walk #2: 28 minutes.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 24 minutes.

Gym: 20 minutes upper body weights.

B: Multigrain kashi, rice protein, flax, strawberries, bananas, almond milk

L and D: Salad, oriental dried onions, 1 c kidney beans, 2 crumbled tostadas, nutritional yeast, salsa; strawberries, bananas

2 L water
2 cups green tea
2 cups coffee

SUCCESS

Due to the fact that I am perimenopausal and that means bats****t crazy and not able to deal with any sort of stress or change, I have cancelled my trip. I have decided in classic Zen Buddhist fashion to Do Nothing until my retirement and just worry about Big Things (roof falling in, illness, death).

This means I don't have to care how long it takes to lose my weight.

AM walk: 30 minutes.
Break walk #1: 32 minutes.
Break walk #2: 15 minutes (dr appt)

Total walk time: 1 hour 17 minutes.

Gym: 15 minutes lower body weights.

B: Oatmeal with banana, pumpkin, raisins, rice protein, flax.

L and D: Salad, faux bacon bits, faux chicken, baked potato, Vietnamese fried onion bits; banana/pumpkin/raisin mix, 2 tb. popcorn.

2.5 L water
2 cups green tea
2.5 cups coffee (one left over from yesterday)

SUCCESS

Doing Nothing ... can be very very very helpful!

Blueskighs

Regained 2 pounds. Have no idea why. Got period back after 3 months and usually on day 4 all the water weight is gone, not increased.

It may take a year to lose this weight, and it's only 8% of the weight which originally took a year to lose.

Scale at mammogram facility yesterday thought I weighed about 103, however, and imagine that, BONE DENSITY EXAM WAS NORMAL.

AM walk: 42 minutes.
Break walk #1: 25 minutes.
Break walk #2: 17 minutes.

Total walk time: 1 hour 24 minutes.

Gym: 19 minutes upper body weights, compound chest, shoulders, triceps.

B: Oatmeal, flax, rice protein, banana/raisin/pumpkin mix

L : Garden zucchini, tomatoes, onions; kidney beans; Vietnamese onion bits and 1/2 cup leftover French fries; banana/raisin/pumpkin mix; peach.

D: Garden zucchini, tomatoes, onions; kidney beans; Vietnamese onion bits and 1/2 cup leftover French fries, no fruit.

2 L water
2 cups green tea
3 cups coffee

SUCCESS

AM walk: 21 minutes.
Break walk #1: 24 minutes.
Break walk #2: 28 minutes.

Total walk time: 1 hour 13 minutes.

Elliptical trainer: 8.5 calories/min x 21 minutes.

Gym: 25 minutes lower body weight circuits.

B: Oatmeal, strawberries, banana/pumpkin/raisin mix, rice protein, flax.

L: Salad, faux pumpkin chicken, 1 crumbled tostada, faux bacon bits, Vietnamese onion bits, nutritional yeast, salsa; peach.

D: Salad, faux pumpkin chicken, 1 crumbled tostada, faux bacon bits, Vietnamese onion bits, nutritional yeast, salsa; banana/pumpkin/raisin mix.

2 cups coffee (one left from yesterday)
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

Still at 107.6. Can't figure it out. I can't drop any more calories. I don't get ENOUGH sleep as it is, can't get up earlier to exercise more. Maybe more sleep??? They say it helps. The Head Gym Grrl, however, said that she'd noticed I'd lost weight, looked good and "don't worry about the scale."

I wish.

She went through my records (I've been there since 1991) and apparently the last time they tested my body fat in 2006 I weighed 108 in January. It took me until July of that year to get down to first goal (95). That's seven months, so I shouldn't expect this time to be easier!

Tried "mixing it up" in gym this morning, 5 minutes on recumbent bike. Ugh, ugh, ugyh. Do not like anything sitting, I sit too much as it is.

Elliptical trainer 8.5 cal/min x 10 min., progressive total leg workout.

AM walk: 17 minutes.
Break walk #1: 30 minutes.
Break walk #2: 16 minutes.
Friday lunch walk: 26 minutes (treadmill, intervals).

Total walk time: 1 hour 29 minutes.

No weights today.

B: Oatmeal with apples, raisins, rice protein, flax.

L and D: Pita pizza with fresh tomato sauce, faux pumpkin chicken, onions; garden zucchini; leftover banana/raisin/pumpkin fruit mix.

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

An Unscheduled Outing into the city, callooh, callay!!!!!

Walked approximately 1 hour, 10 minutes in horrible heat and blazing sun.

B: 1 cup vegan instant vanilla pudding (yech) with 3/4 cup crunchy raisin bran and 1 tb. rice protein. Won't try that again.

L: Super salad: spinach, quinoa and veggies, orzo and veggies, wasabi bits, sunflower seeds, tofu, oregano mint dressing, 4 oz. multigrain rolls; 1/2 pint NadaMoo Mint Chocolate Chip vegan ice cream (ok, but won't do that again either), large coffee.

By this time I had eaten approximately 1500 calories so can't eat anymore today except more salad.

THEN I PROMPTLY WENT ON THE BIGGEST, NASTIEST BINGE SINCE BEGINNING NO S.


I ate a whole meal -- about a cup of tater tots, a homemade roll with about 5 oz. faux pumpkin chicken, a cup of vegan vanilla pudding with a banana, and UNvegan pecan praline ice cream.

I felt so terrible, and I was so ashamed.

The good news: I found a pedometer that works, once I set it correctly. It's a Sportline 955 pedometer watch.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O3OHIY

Perimeter: 2.6 m at probably average 3.7 mph, respectable 226 calories, Total walk time, 1 hour 20 minutes.

Now that I know the thing works properly (I tested it with steps; running speed must equal walking speed), it really IS a motivation tool. I made myself walk an extra mile I otherwise would have blown off.

Due to yesterday's binge, do not plan on eating much of breakfast or lunch. Even after walking almost 3 miles I still feel bloated.

B: Crunchy raisin bran, rice milk, flax, protein, raisins, banana.

D: Salad, faux pumpkin chicken, spanish rice, pico de gallo.

SUCCESS

fkwan wrote:By this time I had eaten approximately 1500 calories so can't eat anymore today except more salad.

THEN I PROMPTLY WENT ON THE BIGGEST, NASTIEST BINGE SINCE BEGINNING NO S.


I ate a whole meal -- about a cup of tater tots, a homemade roll with about 5 oz. faux pumpkin chicken, a cup of vegan vanilla pudding with a banana, and UNvegan pecan praline ice cream.

I felt so terrible, and I was so ashamed.

Just a thought, f, but when you said to yourself "can't eat anymore today" I wonder if you didn't set yourself up. Honestly, when I read it, this is what I thought to myself: "Man, when I say I'm not going to eat this or that, that's exactly what I end up doing."

At any rate, it's over and done. I'm sorry you felt so lousy afterward, but then, maybe that's a good thing too. We learn from consequences. We don't learn when we "get away with it".

Hope you are feeling better today. I'm thinking of you...

I love Mondays.

The watch pedo does cumulative totals only.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 31 minutes, 4.3 miles, 10,787 steps. The bare minimum and I felt as if I had walked a marathon.

Gym: 23 minutes whole body. Gone back to original 3 days a week schedule in hopes of losing some weight.

I have decided that until I reach goal my N days will be McDougall days, i.e., fairly low fat. I've tried everything else and nothing seems to be working.

B: Oatmeal, barley malt, raisins, apple, flax, rice protein.

L and D: Salad, mother-in-law's leftover baked potato, pinto beans, pico de gallo, salsa, faux bacon bits; banana.

Very, very exhausted all day and depressed.

Nevertheless, supposedly a SUCCESS

Still at 108 pounds. Nothing makes any sense anymore. I am just going to have to pretend I'm starting again at this weight and try to go from there. I'm going to have to reprogram the stats to reflect someone who does not exercise because I apparently have a sluggish, menopausal metabolism. My doctor wants to DECREASE my thyroid medication as she thinks it is going to give me osteoporosis. I only had the tiniest bit in my left hip; the rest was normal.

Today I'm using the old watch and the Omron pedometer. This weekend I will test both pedometers with a car measured mile, which will require that I actually walk in the street in the middle of nowhere, which I detest above all things. No one walks in the country. People stop their blasted trucks and ask if one needs "any help". Plus the country folks let their dogs run loose....

Nevertheless....

I'm never going to be a speed demon, and it's much too damned hot, so the only way I'm going to progress is with mileage. My first goal is 5 miles a day, which apparently is what They think normal healthy people are supposed to aim for a day, above the "minimum" of 10,000 steps or about 4.2 miles. If that's the "minimum", my only conclusion is there's little hope for the American people, we're so out of shape and unaccustomed to walking.

Total walk time: 1 hour 54 minutes, 5.09 miles, 13,456 steps. I wish I could walk faster, but I can't.

No weights today, back to MWF schedule.

B: Multigrain kashi, mixed fruit (cantaloupe, bananas, raisins), rice protein, flax, pumpkin seeds, almond milk

L and D: Salad, Vietnamese onion bits, faux bacon bits, pinto beans, 1/2 cup leftover tater tots mother-in-law wouldn't eat; mixed fruit (above).

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water
8 hours sleep


SUCCESS!!!!!

Slept 8 hours. I am making myself go to bed at 2230 or earlier every night. Unfortunately, I can't get up any earlier in the morning.

I started an Excel record of weight, miles and steps. I did NOT go near my home computer AT ALL last night, so did not record calories. Apparently my body is a mess and doesn't really care about food calories, as long as I stick with my N meals and exercise enough I should get back on track.

I'm behind time-wise in miles for today, so that means I just have to keep walking until I reach the goal. When I reach the goal, I stop. Today I'm working with the wrist pedo.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 54 minutes, 5.4 miles, 13,491 steps.

Gym: 29 minutes total body weights.

B: Bob's Red Mill 7 grain hot cereal, rice protein, flax, raisins; cantaloupe/banana mix.

L and D: Salad, faux pumpkin chicken, Vietnamese crunchy onion bits, salsa; homemade sourdough roll, cantaloupe/banana mix.

3 cups green tea
1 cup coffee
2 L water
8 hours sleep

SUCCESS

It's too early to say, but it appears that the pedometer is my lifesaver.

I did one of those Google Map my Run/Walk things for the lap around the hospital that I do on break. The pedometer was pretty accurate, considering my trying to draw a line around the region in the first place. Six of one! Half a dozen of the other!

One lap is 0.62 miles.

I figure I'll just up my mileage until I can't anymore because of time constraints, and hopefully I will have one "killer" day on Saturdays and one "recovery" day on Sundays. If I can find somewhere to learn (I can't learn s*** from videos), I may splurge on Nordic walking poles and start trying that.

Total walk time: 1 hour 58 minutes, 5.8 miles, 14,421 steps!

Gym: 4 minutes this and that weight day. The three days a week thing is not working due to time problems, have to return to 4 days/week, or 4 days plus one this and that day, working on problem areas (triceps!).

B: Bob's Red Mill 8 grain cereal, rice protein, pumpkin, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, dark barley malt. Flax already in the cereal.

L: Salad, Indian chickpeas, crumbled tostadas, Vietnamese onion bits, salsa; pumpkin, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, dark barley malt.

D: Popcorn, pumpkin, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, dark barley malt.

3 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

Wow, I love my pedometer!!!!! I took an extra day to go to the city and run errands. This is why I love Urban Rangering and hate living in the country...

Total walk time: 3 hours, 17 minutes. 9.045 miles!!!! 22,606 steps! I'm an honorary Amish dudette!

B: Lousy chocolate chip cookie (not vegan) and coffee at mall.

L: Salad with spinach, edamame, wasabi bits, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, carrots, peanuts, bell peppers and vinaigrette dressing; multigrain rolls (2 oz. each); coffee; and yes, 1/3 package of marzipan

D: Too much faux pumpkin beef on Italian bread and homemade sourdough rolls, salad, pumpkin mixed with banana for dessert

Could have been worse. Pray I don't binge on the nonvegan pecan praline ice cream screaming at me from my mother-in-law's refrigerator....

SUCCESS

Praying about the screaming ice cream! Too funny, but also too understandable. Congrats on all the successes!

Resting

Of course, I binged. Worse, I binged more than ever before. I ate TWO cups of the offensive, nonvegan pecan praline ice cream MY BLASTED ASS MOTHER-IN-LAW WOULDN'T EAT, EVEN THOUGH (A) SHE LIKES ICE CREAM, AND (B) THAT WAS WHY X BOUGHT IT JUST FOR BLOODY HER. Of course I felt swollen and miserable and angrier than when I started.

I have decided that, for binge-ers, there needs to be something to counteract an S day from hell: an Anti-S day, like an antiDOTE. This is like a very, very strict caloric N Day. Today I am not hungry, and so far I have not eaten. Therefore, my menu will most likely be one meal, which would mean, no sweets, no seconds. (Snacking not an issue here.) In order to make up for the binge, I would have to go easy on any starches.

Today was my first day dealing with the loathsome Perimeter vs. the Pedometer Watch. I first determined, depressingly, that each lap around the place was only 0.15 mile. In order not to go completely mad, I had to do some fancy "legal fudging", as I've called it before. I arranged my footwork to include one circumnavigation plus however many driveway plods (linear) to equal 0.25 mile, and that would count as one "lap". For some reason (perhaps Reinhard can explain?) this made me feel more hopeful, as I would "only" have to do four of them to equal a mile, and then I would reward myself with a water break, and begin plodding the second mile, and so on.

This worked, and I did my currently daily minimum of 5 miles and 12,865 steps in, unfortunately, 1 hour, 50 minutes. !

I also did it completely straight without the distraction of an mp3. I could never, ever have done this before. The worst part was the neighborhood boys doing their motorcycle race practice in the street. I wanted to scream, but I plowed on.

L: 3 pieces whole wheat bread, 1 cup cantaloupe.

D: Asian broccoli, onions, beansprouts, carrots, edamame, peanuts, noodles. Parcelled out noodles but probably ate too many edamame because they were mixed with the vegetables. However, did not binge.

SUCCESS

Amish female "rest" day: 4.115 miles at 1 hour 30 minutes, 10,252 steps. This is the absolute minimum They think an American should move a day. Heavens, are we ever out of shape. No wonder it's hard to lose weight!

B: 1 slice whole wheat bread, 1 tb. chunky peanut butter (before walk); 1 cup raisin bran crunch, rice protein, flax, rice milk, cantaloupe (after) (531 calories). 1 cup coffee.

If anyone knows of a pedometer/heart rate watch/timer whatever the hell that beeps for different paces, please let me know.

I tested my watch pedo on the treadmill again. It's way off as far as pace is concerned. I walked 3, 3.5 and 3.6 mph on a 1 surface. I fiddled with it and am going to retest it on a measured half- or mile.

Total walk time, 1 hour, 54 minutes; 5.5 miles, 13,367 steps.

Gym: 18 minutes upper body weights.

B: Multigrain kashi, rice protein, flax, almond milk, strawberry/banana mix.

L: Leftover salad, tostada bits, Vietnamese onion bits, Indian chickpeas, salsa; strawberry/banana mix.

D: Veggie stew: potatoes, garden onions, carrots, bell peppers, sauce made with A1-Worcestershire-stir fry sauce mixed, 2 Tb. hemp protein; strawberry/banana mix.

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

I keep meaning to have my body fat tested, and I keep forgetting.

I'm not losing hardly any "weight" at all, but I look muscular and more compact. I am increasing mileage by 0.1 mile each day until I run out of time. Today's goal: 5.6 m. Twice a month there are Killer days; I did a Map my Walk to my projected visit to the running store in the rich part of town this Saturday to look at Nordic poles: 10 miles!!!!!!

Total walk time: 2 hours, 7 minutes, 6.02 miles, 14,789 steps.

Gym: 21 minutes lower body weights.

B: Bob's Red Mill 8 grain cereal, protein, pumpkin/apple/raisin mix.

L : Chickpea broth with Vietnamese noodles, extra veggies, edamame, garlic/chili sauce; pumpkin/apple/raisin mix.

D: Popcorn, pumpkin/apple raisin mix, 3 grapes, watermelon bit.

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

Not a drop. Not even a weence. I don't get it. I look much better. My bad hip is twingeing. Maybe my leg muscles are reacting from walking a mininum of six miles a day, even if it's slow.

Oh well, stasis is better than weight GAIN. I remember once walking 7 miles and eating barely anything one day except bread and apples (strange vacation) and lost 4 pounds in a DAY. Technically due to weight gain this month I haven't lost a pound in FOUR WEEKS. It took me four weeks to get back to where I started on the first of the month, and that was with all this walking EVERY DAY.

Terrible conclusion: something is very wrong with my metabolism.

Anyway, limping onward................Decided to stick with 6 mile baseline this week except for Kill Day on Saturday (10 miles planned).

Most Ever Baseline for right now will have to be 7 miles because I don't have any more time in the day to exercise.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 50 minutes, 5.2 miles, 12,711 steps.
Had to quit due to hip pain.

Gym: 18 minutes upper body weights.

B: Calorie Dense Vietnamese Noodles from Hell I have to get rid of, edamame, broccoli, mushrooms, green onions, carrots, beansprouts.

L: McDougall's Mary's Mini: salad with taters, Vietnamese onion bits, generic A-1 and Worcestershire sauce.

D: Same as B.

3 cups green tea
2 cups coffee
2 L water

Very depressed due to walking limitations. Very important lesson: NEVER, EVER CONSCIOUSLY SET GOALS, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED. Went home and went straight to bed.

Good news: DID NOT BINGE.

SUCCESS

Did I mention I LOVE menopause?

Back to the "last ten pounds".

Nevertheless, hip pain or no hip pain, onward through the morass...

B: Back to normal. Bob's 8 grain, protein, banana/pumpkin/raisin mix.

L: Onion rings my mother-in-law wouldn't eat last night, banana/pumpkin/raisin mix.

D: McDougall salad and baked potato, hemp protein, banana/pumpkin/raisin mix.

Total walk time: 2 hours, 10 minutes, 15,184 steps, first "daily 10K", 6.2 miles!

Gym: 17 minutes lower body weights, easy on the hip.

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

fkwan wrote:Not a drop. Not even a weence. I don't get it. ...

Terrible conclusion: something is very wrong with my metabolism.

...Very depressed due to walking limitations. Very important lesson: NEVER, EVER CONSCIOUSLY SET GOALS, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED. Went home and went straight to bed.

Fwan,

Are you familiar with the Buddhist concept of "attachment"?

You seem very attached to a particular number on the scale, one that others have tried to tell you is unreasonably low.

I think your "terrible conclusion" is probably quite wrong. An alternate explanation would be that your body has found the weight it wants to be.

You are suffering so much over a few pounds, and not seeing your progress in terms of exercise and general health... I wish you peace.

Best wishes,

KCCC

I agree with everything KCCC says fkwan. I am concerned with your stress level with this number so want to reach. Please think about what she has expressed.

Dear Kwan,

Don't you love everyone putting in their 2 cents? Well, here I go.

The joy I've found in NoS is that I don't have to spend my time counting, measuring, and mentally or physically going through gymnastics. Currently I'm re-reading the NoS book. Seems Reinhard's big premise is that all the WORK of dieting is both miserable and unsustainable. From your posts you seem to be experiencing both. The other thing is that you appear to be missing out on life (and we only get one on this side of Glory.) Now, if your only joy or purpose in life is to be 100 pounds, then that would be your valid goal. My question is how did you feel the last time you were in your desired weight range? Were you filled with joy? Did you have an abiding sense of accomplishment? Or, did your misery continue-always trying to maintain your goal?

I know in advance that Bright Angel is going to be all over this. She too, seems to have focused much of her life energies and time on her weight. I understand that. I've been there and done that for years and years. NO MORE OF THAT POISON FOR ME!!!!!!!!!

The sweetness of NoS is that it is a gentle and sustainable marathon.

Resting

Resting,

Actually, I felt GREAT! (Thanks for yr support. My actual range was 97-100 (normal for my height) and I never felt or looked better. All this carrying on is about 20 pounds I REGAINED after assuming a bad lifestyle with a job change and other stress.

I sustained it for about 6 months before the problems began to arise and they were due to external forces, NOT to the fact that this was an artificial weight for me.

I KNOW it's where I will be the healthiest. I come from a family with eating disorders so I KNOW that anything below this would be unhealthy, nor would I be able to sustain it for even one second.

No S will ENSURE that I remain on an even keel.

Bless you, my child.

f

Baseline (5 miles) walk in preparation for long walk tomorrow. New resoled shoes. Much less hip pain; figured out new stretch which seems to be opening it up a bit.

Total walk time: 1 hour, 59 minutes, 5.4 miles, 13,333 steps.


No weights today.

B: A little leftover Bob's 8 grain mixed with oatmeal and pear/pumpkin/banana mix, protein.

L and D: Faux tuna salad with Vietnamese onion bits; pear/pumpkin/banana mix.

2 cups coffee
2 cups green tea
2 L water

Then a 2 cup ice cream binge late at night.

FAILURE

Hey Kwan,

Well that sounds wonderful! I hope you make it back to where you feel and look your best. I'm glad we all get to have your input on this journey.

Resting

A new personal best for the old dame: 10.48 miles, 25,482 steps, 3 hours, 45 minutes. All in 100+ degree heat.

B: (late) 1 small oat ice cream soft-serve cone.

L: Southwest red pepper hummus on whole grain rolls.

D: Salad, faux pumpkin fajita meat, bean burrito, tostada chips, leftover hummus, salsa; way too much but boy did it taste good.

2 cups coffee
about 2.5 L water

SUCCESS!!!!

NO exercise today; recovery from 10 miler.

B: Cheerios, flax, protein, strawberries, banana, soymilk.

L: Popcorn.

D: Too much faux burger, bread, salad, boiled potatoes.


About 1.5 L water, 3 cups coffee, lots of rest.

f

Total walk time: 1 hour, 50 minutes, 5.04 miles, 12,291 steps. Lots of hip pain.

Gym: TBA 23 minutes upper body weights.

B: Cheerios, banana/pear/strawberry mix, flax, protein, almond milk, calcium citrate powder.

L and D: Salad, beans, salsa, boiled potatoes, nutritional yeast; banana/pear/strawberry mix.

2 L water
2 cups green tea
2 cups coffee

To hell with the scale. I'm more worried about my hips and the fact that the only exercise I can do is walking (can't swim, can't ride a bike) and it epithet HURTS. The only thing that seems to fix it is the therapist dude. I can't go running to the therapist dude every day. He does something where I lie on my back and he tortures my right leg. It fixes the problem right up for a month and then I throw it out again. Whatever it is, and I've looked at pictures, is not something I can do myself and no one seems willing to learn it to do it to me at home. All it is is forcing the hip into extreme internal rotation, but I can't seem to get the level of torture the therapy guy achieves, and without that level the thing doesn't release.

I can't seem to find a person to train me to walk properly with a screwed up hip. I started trying to learn this "Chiwalking" thing (www.chiwalking.com), which looked interesting and felt good for one whole day, and then I tried it again and was in agony. There are no "certified instructors" in my town. Hell, in the place I actually live, there are no *walkers*, let along walking *coaches*. If there are any physical therapists around who could give me some pointers, I'd really appreciate it.

....And then I was so depressed I went home and...binged. Well, not a true binge, but an extra "meal" -- rice, peas, carrots--starch city. And a small piece of bread.

FAILURE

I'm so sorry about your hip. That sounds very hard to deal with.

Can the therapy dude recommend some exercises you can do at home? Is there another therapy dude type you can talk to?

"Wishing you well" in the most literal sense of the phrase, and hoping that you will find an answer.

Your commitment to exercise, with all the obstacles you face, is really admirable.

Hey Kwan,

So sorry to hear about your hip doings. Have you tried taking glucosamine-condroiton or however it is spelled? I know my PT told me that it was the only supplement set that has actually been proven to help treat/prevent joint pain.

I hope you can find some help!

Resting

resting52 wrote:Hey Kwan,

So sorry to hear about your hip doings. Have you tried taking glucosamine-condroiton or however it is spelled? I know my PT told me that it was the only supplement set that has actually been proven to help treat/prevent joint pain.

I hope you can find some help!

Resting

Resting,

Took the stuff for a year. Did absolutely nothing.

Curcumin (turmeric) seems to help a bit.

Better today.

I lost *approximately* one pound last month.

This month I am going to attempt to not look at the scale.

This month I am going to concentrate on healing my hip.

Today's walk goal: another "10K", which I beat by a mile, and also did carrying about a 10# backpack in the usual 100 degree heat...Hip pain was only 2/10 today, because I walked much slower and stopped and adjusted whenever I twinged.

Total walk time: 2 hours, 34 minutes, 7.2 miles, 17,511 steps!!!!

Gym: 21 minutes lower body weights.

B: Oatmeal, rice protein, pumpkin, prunes (!), pumpkin seeds, flax, vanilla, cinnamon, barley malt.

L: Rice, beans, carrots, snowpeas, onions with mix of garlic/chili and stirfry sauce; leftover pumpkin/prunes.

D: Cherry soy yogurt, cantaloupe, strawberries, dusting of sunflower seeds, mini baguette, coffee. The minibaguette unfortunately sent me over the calorie threshhold.

2 L water
2 cups coffee
3 cups green tea

Then I went home and....ate a piece of garlic bread and about 1/4 cup of the husband's mixed veggie rigatoni.

FAILURE....I've been doing that a lot lately.

I admit to mentally feeling like absolute sh**. I spent all yesterday crying at work, with no one noticing, of course. I was reading a book about pilgrimages and finding your true self and all that rot, and realizing that I was living an absolute lie of a life and wondering how to fix me.

Today is better, went photographing in the morning, no pain!

Total walk time: 2 hours, 10 minutes, 5.9 miles, 1,399 steps.

Gym: 20 minutes Upper body weights.

B: Back to the beloved multigrain kashi, leftover pumpkin/prune mix, flax, rice protein, almond milk.

L: Leftover rice, beans, snowpeas, carrots, onions and jalapeño oil with stir fry sauce.

D: Faux chicken with rigatoni, eggplant, red bell pepper and onion seasoned with garden fresh garlic.

3 cups green tea
2 cups coffee
2 L water

All in vain.

When I got home, I had the worst binge on record since beginning No S:

2 cups pecan praline ice cream
Two peanut butter chip cookies @ 300 or so calories each
2 pieces garlic bread (2 oz.)

Even weirder, I felt better, as if my serotonin level was so low a binge was "medically necessary" in order to reach a survival level of same.


UTTER, SPECTACULAR FAILURE

I'm sad that no one at work noticed you were upset and crying. Was it the book that made you cry?

I'm so impressed by all you do, the exercise and eating right. What an inspiration. Please note that even though I don't know you, you do have a positive impact on me via this dicussion board.

Glad that you are feeling better today.

Sandy

Fwan, I agree with Sandy - how sad that no one noticed at work.

We're noticing now. {{hug}}

Your commitment in the face of many obstacles is admirable. I believe that you will find your path, because you continue to reach for it.

Would love to see some of your photos. Do you have a website?

May today (and tomorrow) be good days.

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!

UNLIMITED HUGS

KC, I don't have a website due to privacy and time restrictions. I'll try to put some stuff up from time to time. I do have a private mailing list.

Did I mention that I hate menopause? It's probably contributing to the depression. The rest of it is the fact that I have been alienated all my life and it appears to be getting worse, and I live a very isolated life and the loneliness is driving me insane (without my husband I wouldn't be on this planet). I limp not only to a different drummer, but the sax player, the keyboard dude and the dork on the kazoo in back.

You guys singlehandedly kept me from mainlining peanut butter truffles today.




f

F, I haven't been around regularly this week as we are on vacation, but I want to say I'm thinking of you and sending you good thoughts. I'm glad you didn't dive into the peanut butter truffles. If you read my post of today, you will see that I'm learning that food stuff is losing most of it's appeal. Mentally (and probably emotionally), I've noticed that I'm still thinking sometimes that it will help, but when I have it now, it doesn't seem to do what I want it to do. Probably because I'm not bingeing, but having a "normal" amount. I'm beginning to wonder if it's not the zoning out in the bingeing that I really was going for rather than the taste of the foods. I think I've gotta find a healthy way to replace the zoning...

Anyway, didn't mean to turn this around to be about me, but I think we are all on a learning curve here and helping each other as we go. I'm glad you are a part of my new life.

Poor little No S needs a-tweaking. I'm obviously going through serious changes and failing where I never failed before. Can't have any more binges, but since my serotonin level is so low, some sort of sweets or carbs are in order, and since I can't gain all the weight back, I have to allow them calorie-wise.

Today I got "sent home" early from work due to cost cutting again, so I made myself a sort of S day.

B: Oatmeal, pumpkin, raisins, brown sugar, rice protein, flax.

L: Cinnamon bun, originally 6 oz. Ended up eating the frosting, which is what I really wanted, and gave about half the innards to the birds. Figure about 430 calories. Large coffee.

Total so far: ~851. All else I can eat: lots of salad and a little faux protein.

D: Salad, 3.5 oz. faux chicken, faux bacon bits, nutritional yeast, one biscuit, 2 oz. hash browns. Approximately 1,327 total calories.

Total walk time: 2 hours, 42 minutes, 7.4 miles, 18,246 steps with 17 pound backpack (weighed on scale at gym).

Gym: 25 minutes lower body weights.

Hip pain: 1/10.

Could have been much, much worse.

SUCCESS

So far, so good: walked 3 miles to work from stop at credit union (i.e., spent one hour in car from middle of nowhere, got out at credit union, walked to work; SIGH.). Later will walk about 2 miles to my beloved Central Market, plus one mile on break.

Total walk time: 2 hours 31 minutes, 7.6 miles, 17,738 steps.

B: Peanut butter cookie (bad), 260 calories. Therefore, added only protein (55 calories, 12 g) and almond milk (35), total 350 (perfectly acceptable), 1 cup green tea, water.

L: Salad with beans, Vietnamese onion bits, 2 oz. leftover potato, salsa.

D: Faux chicken and matzo ball "dumplings".

No weights today, off day, plus gym closed.

Hip pain so far: 1/10. Three cheers for "Chi walking"!

Longterm goal: 7 miles every day, equivalent of "normal Amish male", although I'm also trying to discover my "inner Kenyan" (runner, except I can't run).

Hey Kwan,

Great news about the hip! I need to find out more about chi walking????

Resting

fkwan wrote: Hip pain so far: 1/10 Three cheers for "Chi walking"!

Glad it helps, i also would like to know more about "Chi walking"!

fkwan,

thank you for your support with my little kitty, sounds like you are doing good with your walking,

Blueskighs

Total walk time: 3 hours, 56 minutes, 11.5 miles, 26,862 steps.

No hip pain when walking.

Received Chiwalking DVD in mail to check form, haven't watched it yet because I don't have a !@#$%ing DECODER on my computer, too lazy to watch it on DVD machine.

B: Clif Builder 20 g protein bar.

L: 1 scoop mango gelato, 1 scoop blueberry gelato, 1/2 cup pecan praline ice cream.

D: Eggplant pita pizza, large salad, peach, 1/2 cup cantaloupe.

Unexpected little walklet to get out of house away from mother-in-law,
only 58 minutes, 3.4 miles, 7882 steps. I used my metronome for the first time and did some 17 minute miles.

B: 1.5 cups of pecan praline ice cream.

L: Kashi, banana, peach, rice protein, flax, soymilk. Then a ciabatta roll with fresh garlic and peppers.

D: Salad, eggplant-rigatoni-pepper combo with faux chicken, 1 piece garlic bread and.....another cup of pecan praline ice cream.

Nightmares all night with vows to not binge anymore, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Have not dared to look at the scale. In the mirror I look thinner, however.

I have decided the only way to deal with this bingeing, etc. etc. is to make sure I eat 1000 calories or less during N days and figure out a way to throw out the ice cream on trash day (Thursday) so I can not binge on the weekends.

Used the metronome on today's AM walk. The stupid thing is really loud even on the 0 setting so I can only turn it on outside and have to memorize the cadence. I'm up to short bursts at 180 steps/minute. I can't use the steps per minute for one foot only. I have to time each step to the beeps. The hip started to twinge so I went back to 170. I would like to some day get up to about 200, which is roughly 4 mph.

I sent the local walking coach two emails which bounced, so today I am going to call her and make an appointment. She is also a physical therapist and some kind of woo-woo thing like Reiki and acupuncture which I figure can't hurt.

Total walk time: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 6.2 m (another 10k!), 14,464 steps.

Gym: 20 minutes upper body weights.

B: Kashi, banana, raisins, rice protein, flax, rice milk.

L: Leftover salad with black beans and 2 oz. boiled potato.

D: Popcorn.

1 cup coffee!
2 cups green tea
2 L water

SUCCESS

fkwan wrote:I have decided the only way to deal with this bingeing, etc. etc. is to make sure I eat 1000 calories or less during N days and figure out a way to throw out the ice cream on trash day (Thursday) so I can not binge on the weekends.

Fkwan, IMHO you're going in exactly the wrong direction on this.

Remember, binging in generally a REACTION TO RESTRICTION. You not only want more emotionally, but your body rebels again the limitations if it truly needs more food.

1000 calories or less is almost guaranteeing that you'll fall into backlash binging.

My advice is to eat more "real food," to worry about calories less, and see where that takes you. Eat for health and taste, but don't "count" - just try it for a month and see how you feel.

I wish you the best.

KCCC wrote:1000 calories or less is almost guaranteeing that you'll fall into backlash binging.

My advice is to eat more "real food," to worry about calories less, and see where that takes you. Eat for health and taste, but don't "count" - just try it for a month and see how you feel.

I totally disgree with the advice above.

There is nothing wrong with a small person of our size eating 1000 calories a day.
For someone of our size, it is the perfect calorie number for healthy weight-loss
of somewhere between 1/2 lb and 1 lb per week.
and is the equivalent of a larger person eating 1200 to 1500 calories a day.

It is important for us not to drop our average calorie intake below 800 calories very often,
because for someone our size,
that is around the place where 'starvation mode' begins,
which just works to slow down weight-loss . .
and is the place where we suffer incredibly deprivation just to remain almost the same weight.

Reinhard, on page 167 says you can combine No S with another diet if you have the desire to do so,
and I believe that - for people of our small size - it is necessary to count calories along with No S
if we want to remain small and/or get smaller.

The advice to "eat for health and taste but don't count" calories might be great advice for a tall, large woman,
but for small women like you and me that advice is a "How to Get Fat" formula
i.e. instructions on how to guarantee a gain of 10 to 25 lbs in a very short time.

This is a truth that both of us know from our own personal experience,
but is a truth which larger women just cannot seem to comprehend..

I don't know if it's a matter of comprehension BA, it might be more of how shockingly little that amount of calories sounds. The thought of anyone eating only 1000 calories a day....seems impossible to achieve without total and complete feelings of deprivation, obsession and hardship, to me at least.

I am 5' 4 1/2" tall with a large frame. I will never be 'tiny' or 'skinny' but when I get to my goal of 150lbs, I am going to look and feel fabulous!!! Even though that will still be outside of the 'normal' range on the BMI charts.

OrganicGal wrote:how shockingly little that amount of calories sounds. The thought of anyone eating only 1000 calories a day....seems impossible to achieve without total and complete feelings of deprivation, obsession and hardship, to me at least.

I am 5' 4 1/2" tall with a large frame.
I will never be 'tiny' or 'skinny' but when I get to my goal of 150lbs, I am going to look and feel fabulous!!!

Organic Gal,
I'll bet you will look and feel fabulous.

Those of us who have tiny frames, have to learn to live with our limitations.
We have to eat a smaller amount of food than larger women,
and we have to be more careful about how many calories that small amount of food has.
And it frequently IS very frustrating.

I wish I didn't have to eat 1000 calories to lose around 1/2 lb a week,
and I wish I didn't have to eat only 1400 calories per day PLUS exercise 1 hour every day
just to stay the same weight and not gain.
I'd like my body to levitate too, but the laws of gravity don't allow it.

I wonder if you can understand how frustrating it is, for example:
to open Women's Day Magazine to read about the latest magic diet,
and see that the SAMPLE menu for the diet is 1500 calories...
...and to KNOW that 1500 calories is 100 calorie a day MORE than I can eat to stay the same...
. . ..even with 1 hour of daily exercise...and that If I were to follow the diet menu,
instead of losing 1 to 2 lbs per week, I would GAIN 10 lbs within a one year time period.

We can't grow taller, larger frames.
We become fatter at lower weights.
And as we age, our bodies burn less calories for the same activities.
So if we can't ingest less food, we our only alternative will be
to be overweight (5 '0" charts say about 128)
or obese (5 ' 0 " charts say about 150),
a large round person over small bones.

It is hard when others don't understand and sympathize.
Although it may be well-meaning, such incorrect advice feels very unhelpful,
It's like being told: "I think you should grow taller"
. . . . . .yeah. . . .thanks a lot. . . . .

As we take over fkwan's daily check in BA...lol....let me express that I can understand your frustration, because I have similar ones of my own. And I do understand about how much harder it is to lose weight as we get older. At almost 45 ( a little over a month away) I can feel that in my body too.

I have at times in my life, wished I had a smaller more delicate 'feminine' frame, but nowadays I love how strong I am. How much my body does for me, how capable I am of doing things for myself. And this in no way means or implies that someone like you BA or fkwan cannot do the same. It is just showing how I have come to accept and appreciate the 'frame' I was given.

So, I am grateful that I can 'handle' more then 1000 calories a day, even if I can't 'handle' 2000....lol

BA, why don't we move this discussion to my thread or a new one so as not to take over fkwan's check-in? I would like to talk to you about this more, but it doesn't feel polite to hijack fkwan's thread further.

(Fkwan, please could you be understanding and focus on the fact that everyone means well toward you - even if we don't agree? Forgive the intrusion.)

BA, I'll PM you then.

Y'all,

Feel free to talk. I'm flattered that you think so highly of me that you have to argue about my welfare.

Day 8 or so of No Scale.

Did not enter calories officially in computer, because was too tired to go near it. Went home and went straight to bed.

Today's mileage goal is 7 m for baseline.

Total walk time: 2 hours, 27 minutes, 7.2 miles, 16,897 steps.

Gym: 22 minutes lower body weights.

Played around with some branches for "walking poles" to get an idea of the form.

B: Kashi, strawberries, cantaloupe from garden, rice protein, flax, rice milk.

L: Salad, faux chicken, garlic bread (4 oz = 494 calories according to www.calorieking.com), salsa, Vietnamese onion bits, jalapeños, okra, spread over 3 meals.

D: Popcorn.

3 cups green tea
1 cup coffee
2 L water

Then went home and....binged at midnight. 1 cup pecan praline ice cream, 1 oatmeal raisin cookie, 1 tb. protein powder with brown sugar and margarine....

...not enough protein.

Won't do that again.

ABJECT FAILURE

Hey Kwan,

Did you get the book about chi walking or learn it somewhere else? Is it really helping your joint pain or allowing you to walk further? Since my main exercise is my morning walk, I would love to learn how to do it more effectively.

Resting

Hi fkwan, i bought the Omron Digital Pedometer; thank you i love it

Where did you go?

Missing you here!

Resting

fkwan, miss you and hope all is well in your world.

Sending good wishes,

KCCC