31 August 2012

Weekly weigh-in #10 : -2.9kg (total -12.4kg)

The title says it all. Very happy about my week.  :o)

Tomorrow, I'll be off to Spain for a week, so I don't know if I'll be able to update this blog. I already have the travel blog to keep, so I probably leave this one for a week.

Until tomorrow or next week,



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 7 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness plain 4 pts, apple)

Lunch : ?? pts (2 inari sushi and 2 spring roll shrimp sushi with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger)

Dinner : 13 pts (WW pizza with salad and lightmustard dressing)

Unused : ?? pts (the only certainty is that I used 20 points out of 46)

Drinks :   1.5L still water

Totals for breakfast and dinner as lunch values are a big mystery


30 August 2012

Looking for clues

For the past week, my weight has been going down steadily without my knowingly changing anything in particular to my diet or activity level.  I plateau-ed around -9kg for almost two weeks before my body decided to give up resistance and let go.  As of this morning, I have accumulated a -2.9 kg loss this week.  Not sure what tomorrow's official number will be, but there you go ...

Because I like to know why things changed suddenly and also because I am still trying to determine which foods (besides bread) are processed slower than others by my metabolism , I had a closer look at my food diary and fitbit stats of the past week and I noticed several things.

1.  Since last Thursday, my daily calorie intake has been hovering around 1.500 kcal, sometimes, just over but usually just under.  This is only about 100/150 kcal lower than my average during the plateau period i.e 2 apples worth.  Such a small difference, isn't it?

2.  For the past 7 days, my carb/fat/protein ratio has been more balanced.


I have to honestly say, that I never paid much attention to the ratios.  My main focus has always been to make healthy choices and to keep the kcal in check, in order to achieve a deficit of at least 750 kcal a day.  

3.  My dinner, which up to now was always about 40% of my daily energy intake has dropped to 34%, closer to the recommended 30% for weight loss.

4. My amount of daily steps have gone from around 5.000 steps to around 6.500. 

I don't know if these findings are just a lucky coincidence or are truly the key to speed up my weight loss.  There is only one way to find out and that is to persevere in that direction.  It will be hard to keep up this winning streak next week though, as being abroad on holiday, we will be eating out every single day.  But I'll do my best.

Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :


Breakfast : 7 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g plain nestlé fitness 4pts, apple)

Lunch : 11 pts (Thai Meatballs Bento: ground beef meatballs with rice and pak choi, snowpeas and baby corn cobs) 

Dinner : 14 pts (veal sausage, boiled potatoes and cut green beans)


Unused : 15 pts


Drinks :   2L still water.





29 August 2012

Start2Run

I went to the infosession about the Start2Run programme tonight and decided to sign up for the athletics club and the programme at the same time.

According to the schedule, we should be able to run a 5K by December 16.  Looking forward to that :o)

First session will be on September 12, and until mid-October all the training sessions will be held in the forest.  Sounds like fun.
 
Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :


Breakfast : 5 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 12 pts (Chicken Shawarma Bento: chicken shawarma with one pitabread and aioli made of a lowfat petit suisse cheese with garlic)

Dinner : 11 pts (Thai meatballs with rice)


Unused : 19 pt

Drinks :   3L still water.




28 August 2012

Black & Blue

I hear black and blue are the new winter colours. Me and my bruises are very fashionable, indeed. Can't wait to get some new colours tomorrow ... Not.
 
Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :


Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 9 pts (half a light mozzarella ball with tomato and 1 tsp of olive oil, 4 wasa crispbreads with light philadephia salmon cheese and two plums for dessert)

Dinner : 12 pts (chicken shawarma with one pitabread and aioli made of a lowfat petit suisse cheese with garlic)


Unused : 18 pt

Drinks :   2.75L still water.




27 August 2012

First day of tests

Today I had my first day of tests at the hospital, a prerequisite to start the obesity platform programme.  When I had my talk with the psychologist at the end of July, she told me I needed to schedule an appointment in order to get bloodworks done.  The leaflet she handed me over said that it would take about three hours, which I found a bit strange because even with my bad veins, it wouldn't take that long to fill a couple of vials.

At the scheduled time, I was sitting in the waiting room with several other programme candidates. A nurse came to fetch us and lead us to a room with four beds, telling us to get comfy. Huh?  Apparently, the scheduled appointment was more than just regular bloodworks.  They also planned a glucose tolerance test.  If you never had this type of test done, it consists of fasting for 8/10 hours (i.e no eating or drinking from 10 PM onwards) before getting blood drawn.  After that initial sample, they make you drink a solution of 75g glucose (extremely sweet and sticky, think warm flat fanta syrup) and afterwards take three vials of blood every half hour for a 2 hours period) to see how quickly your body disposes of the excess sugar.

Problems is that with my bad veins, the IV they placed in order to draw the many blood vials easily, clogged up almost immediately.  They tried finding other veins for an IV without much success and ended up trying out several places painstakingly drawing blood 2 ml at the time.  As a result of this 3 hour long "battle of the veins", my hands, wrists and arms are sore and bruised.

And the best part?  The hospital called me again this afternoon.  Because of the whole messy business, some of the samples were compromised and I need to go back on Wednesday for more bloodworks. :o( Sometimes I wonder why this type of thing always happens to me.

Anyway, I'll have the results when I go back after my holidays.  I have never had any problems besides the thyroid thing, but now I feel a bit anxious.  Hopefully nothing will show up on the test results. Time will tell.

Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (1 apple after the test and I estimated the value of the testing fluid for 75g of glucose)


Dinner : 10 pts (130g steak, 300g cauliflower, 200g potatoes and a white sauce made from 100ml semi skimmed milk and 1 tsb of flour, one petit louis cheese)


Unused : 18 pt

Drinks :   3.5L still water.



26 August 2012

Walking in the rain

If I had any doubt about it, I now know for sure ... I am a cool weather girl.  Compared to my last walks in 26+degrees weather, when I struggled to keep a rhythm, walking today in a cool 15 degrees was heavenly.  The only downpoint to the walk was the rain.

I woke up early as usual, but one look outside told me I would have to wait to gear up : it was raining cats and dogs.  Twice, I thought the rain had let up, but when I opened the front door, ready to go out ... it was pouring down again.

Finally after 2 hours, my patience was rewarded and before I could change my mind, I rushed outside and started walking.  Thanks to the cool weather I managed to keep an average 9min/km pace and I felt energised.  However the rain wouldn't let up and after getting soaked midway, I decided to cut the walk slightly short.  One week from my holidays, I didn't feel like risking a bad cold by walking in the wind in wet clothes.  So in the end, I only did 7.5K out of the scheduled 10K.

Weightwise, things have been looking up as well.  After a couple of weeks of near standstill, I seem to be on a downward slope again.  Things are looking up. 

Going to the hospital tomorrow to get some bloodworks done.  The programme is starting.

Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :

Breakfast : none

Lunch : 19 pts (starter : boursin and raw ham; main : lamb chops, carrots, green beans and potatoes)

Dinner : 18 pts (ribeye steak with salad and potatoes)


Unused : 10 pts

Drinks :   2.2L still water.



25 August 2012

Nearly Wordless Saturday


Yay !

Until tomorrow ...



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : none

Lunch : 13 pts (Potato and chorizo casserole)

Dinner : 24 pts (Oven cheese and bread)

Unused : 10 pts

Drinks :   2L still water.

Way too much fat due to the cheese  :o(


24 August 2012

Weekly weigh-in #9 : -0.5kg (total -9.5kg)

Well, Miss Scales had a surprise in stall for me, because until yesterday morning, my weight was 0.8kg higher than this morning. I was kind of hoping on a status quo, but instead I got a medium loss.  Life is good sometimes :o)

On my way to the -10kg now ...

Until tomorrow,



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 9 pts (Meatless Friday: pasta ricotta bento: 75gr dry penne pasta 7pts, 50g ricotta 2 pts, fruits and veggies 0pts)

Dinner : 13 pts (Bouchot mussels with mustard dressing)

Snack: 3 pts (cup of pumpkin soup)


Unused : 14 pts 

Drinks :   1.5L still water


23 August 2012

Traffic jams

I hate traffic jams. Especially when they delay my arrival at home to such an extend, that I can't go for my powerwalk :o(

Weigh-in again tomorrow, not sure the result will be nice because the weight has been going up and down all week long. We'll see ...

Until tomorrow ...



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 10 pts (Bulgur & Nectarine Salad Bento : 40g raw bulgur 4pts, 1tsp olive oil 1pt, 180g chicken filet with cumin 5pts, fruits and veggies 0pts)

Dinner : 10 pts (oyster mushrooms 0pts, 150g chicken filet 4pts, 200g boiled potatoes 4pts, 25g chaumes 2pts)

Unused  : 20 pts

Drinks :   1.7L still water.




22 August 2012

Hump day again


 Until tomorrow ...



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 12 pts (Chinese Buckwheat Crepes Bento : 2 buckwheat crepes 5pts, chicken fillet 5pts, 0,5 tbs liquid honey 1pt, 1 tsp olive oil 1pts, soy sauce, lime juice and fruit 0pts)

Dinner : 12 pts (3 salmon chipolatas 9pts, 150g potatoes 3 pts, leek 0pts)

Unused  : 10 pts

Snack : 6 pts (3 mini sablés and 1 soyjoy banana bar)

Drinks :   2.7L still water.




21 August 2012

Day 61 - Nothing to report

 
Nothing to report, except that I am learning to eat cherries.  Until two years ago, the only red fruit I ate were strawberries.  Last year, I added black and blueberries to the menu and this year, it's the cherries' turn.  I still despise the taste of the red cherries, but these bigarreau napoleon ones are definitely up my alley.  They sold at almost 40 EUR/kg though, so unless I can find them any cheaper, they will remain exception splurges ...
 Until tomorrow ...



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 14 pts (2 wasa cripsbreads 2pts, tomato 0pts, mozzarella 9pts, 1tbs olive oil dressing 3pts, cherries 0pts)

Dinner : 14 pts (Chorizo casserole: baby potatoes, chorizo, red onion, red peppers - recipe from the WW magazine)

Unused  : 6 pts

Snack: 6 pts (1/3 of the Petits Carrés Chocolate bar and 3 mini sablés 3pts - note to self: don't buy cookies or sweets because you can't keep your hands off them)

Drinks :   2L still water.




20 August 2012

Day 60 - Looking back


Day 60 since the start of my healthier lifestyle and therefore two months into this lifelong journey, it is time for a little review.

If I am happy with where I am right now, I have nevertheless this little nagging feeling of dissatisfaction.  Like a lot of people, I am prone to beating myself up on things I should have / could have done better and this journey is no exception to the rule.  Over the past 2 months, I slipped off occasionally and even if it didn't lead to significant weight gains, I do feel that my plateaus are a result of slacking control.  If I had been stricter, I might have already crossed the 10kg hurdle but as it is right now, it just stays in sight, but out of reach.  Frustrating.

This being said, I shouldn't sit down, whine about it and stuff myself with sweets and other unhealthy crap but get up and kick some ass (preferably mine).  So with renewed motivation, I look at that 10kg hurdle and as God is my witness, I will cross that sucker. Preferably sooner than later though ...

Until tomorrow ...



Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 8 pts (20 cl halfskimmed milk 3pts, 45g nestlé fitness chocolate 5pts, apple)

Lunch : 6 pts (4 wasa cripsbreads with philadephia grilled peppers cheese 5pts, diced tomato salad with mustard dressing 1pts, apple 0pts)

Dinner : 18 pts (300g spaghetti 10pts, 60g steak 2 pts, 90gr sausage 6pts, tomato and cucumber 0pts)

Unused  : 9 pts

Snack: 7 pts (2/3 of the Petits Carrés Chocolate bar very bad, I know *bows head in shame*)

Drinks :   2.5L still water.




19 August 2012

Meltdown

With yesterday's temperatures topping 35 degrees, I knew I had to get up early, if I wanted to do any exercise today.  And if there is something that doesn't come naturally for this nightowl, it is getting up at the crack of dawn (well, an ungodly hour of me at least) just for the sake of exercising.  If you would have told me last year that I would put my alarm at 7.00 on a Sunday, just to go out and do a 10K,  I would have laughed at you. I would have. Really, no doubt about it.

Yet, that's what I did.  As usual I needed to snooze the alarm a couple of times before actually getting into a vertical position, but I did.  I geared up, filled up my camelbak with 2L of water and by 8.00 I was ready to go.

My powerwalk went fairly well, although I already started to suffer from the heat once I got to my 6K point.  My hydration pack came in really handy.  The only downside of it, is that I felt the pack getting lighter but I had absolutely no idea how much I drank.  Being afraid of getting stuck dry somewhere, I did buy a 50cl bottle of cold evian at my usual pitstop which I drained in one go.  Because I tweaked my route on the way in order to avoid getting stuck at a traffic light, my 10K ended up being a 9.77K, but as the temperature was already nearing 30 again, I didn't have the courage to do another block just for the sake of seeing the double digits on the Nike app.  I burned again over 1000 kcal on this powerwalk and that's undoubtedly a morale booster for me.  Upon arrival, I checked the camelbak and there was slightly less than 1L of water left in there, so I know that I won't have to stop for drinks on the road next time.  I will however try to put chilled water in the reservoir when I use it next, if I remember to put it in the fridge the day before.

Oh, and I earned a new FitBit badge too :o)



And just because it is Sunday, a little overview of last week's activities




Until tomorrow ...


Overview of my day :

Breakfast : 5 pts (greek strawberry yoghurt)

Lunch : 15 pts (starter : smoked salmon with cucumber and philadelphia cheese; main : ribeyesteak with salad, tomatoes, cucumber, potatoes and light mayo)

Dinner : 9 pts (Bouchon mussels and musterd dressing)

Snacks : 16 pts (1 Xpop icelollies and some krupuk)


Unused : 3 pts

Drinks :   4L still water.