Sunday, 24 January 2010
WOW! OMG!
I kind of can't believe it! I've lost 11 lbs in two weeks! That's really more then expected. That's really impressive considering the Special K challenge is to lost 6lbs in 2 weeks! (I haven't tried on a smaller pair of jeans yet but I don't think I lost enough inches to have lost a jeans size) It's even more impressive considering that my exercise regiment was hampered by the huge blister on my heel, which still hasn't completely healed but at least is not painful anymore. I wonder how much I would have lost if I wasn't limited by my heel? It doesn't matter though because I did better then I thought/hoped and I have a good start to my year. Now I only have like 50-60 more pounds go to before next year. haha
Snacks
So, I have a number in mind. It is a pretty high number, but not as high as I thought it was going to be. You see, I got on a scale yesterday.
I'm not proud of the number, but I'm not really that ashamed of it, either. I know how it happened. I'm not my priority. I know that I'm pretty much all I ever talk about here, but in the non-blog world, my priorities are my friends and family, my cats, my research, my students, the lab, making sure bills get paid on time, and that I'm doing all that I can to make sure that my PhD is worth something when I graduate. Oh, and for two and half years, my now ex, who provided me with opportunity and incentive to unlearn many of my good habits by making me feel like a piece of trash and only eating store-bought junk himself. On the surface, there are a lot of first-person singular possessive markers, so it still looks like I'm just talking about me. But what I'm trying to point out is, that when it comes to what my body needs and what I need to be healthy, happy and stable.
The number that I'm thinking about is what it is. So, if I want it to be something else, I have to work on it. Honestly, I've said this before and you might think this is just me trying to convince myself but, as long as I'm healthy and not miserable because my needs aren't being met, that number can stay put. The thing is, I know I'm not. I get winding walking up the stairs and my clothes fit weird.
In a previous post, I mentioned that my plan is to take lunch and snacks to school and to food journal. I've been doing really well at taking my lunch. And, remembering snacks. And, remembering to eat them. I have noticed a correlation between being hungry and not being able to get work done. And, thanks to my friend Annie I've discovered a new energy/nutrition bar. These things are kind of amazing. All of the ingredients are words I can pronounce (without resorting to a dictionary.) They are a little more calorie intense than the other granola bars I've been eating, but they are super tasty. And, well, its nice to exactly what you are eating.
I'm not proud of the number, but I'm not really that ashamed of it, either. I know how it happened. I'm not my priority. I know that I'm pretty much all I ever talk about here, but in the non-blog world, my priorities are my friends and family, my cats, my research, my students, the lab, making sure bills get paid on time, and that I'm doing all that I can to make sure that my PhD is worth something when I graduate. Oh, and for two and half years, my now ex, who provided me with opportunity and incentive to unlearn many of my good habits by making me feel like a piece of trash and only eating store-bought junk himself. On the surface, there are a lot of first-person singular possessive markers, so it still looks like I'm just talking about me. But what I'm trying to point out is, that when it comes to what my body needs and what I need to be healthy, happy and stable.
The number that I'm thinking about is what it is. So, if I want it to be something else, I have to work on it. Honestly, I've said this before and you might think this is just me trying to convince myself but, as long as I'm healthy and not miserable because my needs aren't being met, that number can stay put. The thing is, I know I'm not. I get winding walking up the stairs and my clothes fit weird.
In a previous post, I mentioned that my plan is to take lunch and snacks to school and to food journal. I've been doing really well at taking my lunch. And, remembering snacks. And, remembering to eat them. I have noticed a correlation between being hungry and not being able to get work done. And, thanks to my friend Annie I've discovered a new energy/nutrition bar. These things are kind of amazing. All of the ingredients are words I can pronounce (without resorting to a dictionary.) They are a little more calorie intense than the other granola bars I've been eating, but they are super tasty. And, well, its nice to exactly what you are eating.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Update on week 1 of my Special K Challenge. I have lost 5 lbs! That's right! 5 lbs! I'm so excited! I think it's really working. I've enjoyed it so far. I've also added a new exercise video to my routine. I bought a resistance band kit from work and I know it's working because I am so sore. We also been having some unseasonbly warm weather here in the New York area so I have done some walking. I met some friends for dinner at the great restaurant in the East Village. I decided to go straight from work then going all the way home, being there for about 10 minutes and then turn right around and leave. I had an hour to kill before we were supposed to meet so I walked around the Village for a bit. I like exploring new neighborhoods. Yesterday, I walked to work. It was a good walk but halfway there I could feel a blister forming on my heel and by the time I got to work it has huge. It really hurts. I hope it pops soon because it really is painful and I don't want it to interfere with m progress. I guess I'll just have to fight through the pain.
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Back in the Saddle.
Now that Coltrane is posting and has, if you will, thrown down the gauntlet it is time to start blogging and thinking about food again.
It is funny to put it that way, "thinking about food" because, honestly, I don't ever stop thinking about food. I love food. I love cooking. I definitely love eating. I even love reading diet books, as odd as that sounds. And, I feel that at this point in my life I have read too many of them and I'm old enough not to feed myself properly. Like a grown up. Healthy and such.
So, I bought a ham, some potatoes, loads of veg, and a bag of salad. (I also bought bacon and cinnamon rolls. It is my last weekend of freedom before the semester begins and I am going to enjoy it!) I feel like, what is important is that I just remain mindful of what I eat. If I am paying attention and trying to only eat at meal times or when I am hungry perhaps I can break some of my bad, couch potato habits.
In an effort to do this, to be mindful, I am going to do two things:
1. I have started food journalling. Every time something passes my lips, I make a note of it. I even bought a planner so that I'd have something all set to go. I've eaten a lot this weekend. True Story.
2. I am taking my lunch and two snacks with me to school every day. Additionally, I have V8 (don't make that face, I like the way it tastes and I am not you. :P), some Fiber One granola bars and a mess of tea bags that I am taking into my office. I am hoping that access to tasty snacks and my own tea stash will curb any "let's go to Starbucks or Tim Horton's" urges I have. I feel this will be good for my wasteline and my budget.
It is funny to put it that way, "thinking about food" because, honestly, I don't ever stop thinking about food. I love food. I love cooking. I definitely love eating. I even love reading diet books, as odd as that sounds. And, I feel that at this point in my life I have read too many of them and I'm old enough not to feed myself properly. Like a grown up. Healthy and such.
So, I bought a ham, some potatoes, loads of veg, and a bag of salad. (I also bought bacon and cinnamon rolls. It is my last weekend of freedom before the semester begins and I am going to enjoy it!) I feel like, what is important is that I just remain mindful of what I eat. If I am paying attention and trying to only eat at meal times or when I am hungry perhaps I can break some of my bad, couch potato habits.
In an effort to do this, to be mindful, I am going to do two things:
1. I have started food journalling. Every time something passes my lips, I make a note of it. I even bought a planner so that I'd have something all set to go. I've eaten a lot this weekend. True Story.
2. I am taking my lunch and two snacks with me to school every day. Additionally, I have V8 (don't make that face, I like the way it tastes and I am not you. :P), some Fiber One granola bars and a mess of tea bags that I am taking into my office. I am hoping that access to tasty snacks and my own tea stash will curb any "let's go to Starbucks or Tim Horton's" urges I have. I feel this will be good for my wasteline and my budget.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Special K 2-week Challenge
ok, my first post. Yeah!
We have all seen the commercials for the Special K Challenge. Have a bowl of Special K for breakfast, eat one of their meal bars for lunch and then have one of their many snack options throughout the day and then a sensible dinner at night. If you do this for 2 weeks, you will lose 1 jean size. Or so they say. We shall see. I bought two weeks with of special k and 2 weeks worth of Weight Watchers meals for dinner because I'm lazy and I figured that would be the easiest. I'm starting Sunday, I want to eat all the "bad" food I have first so they are not around to tempt me and anyway Sunday seems like a good day to start. So as of now, I wear a size 16 jeans. Hopefully, I'll be a size 14 in 2 weeks
We have all seen the commercials for the Special K Challenge. Have a bowl of Special K for breakfast, eat one of their meal bars for lunch and then have one of their many snack options throughout the day and then a sensible dinner at night. If you do this for 2 weeks, you will lose 1 jean size. Or so they say. We shall see. I bought two weeks with of special k and 2 weeks worth of Weight Watchers meals for dinner because I'm lazy and I figured that would be the easiest. I'm starting Sunday, I want to eat all the "bad" food I have first so they are not around to tempt me and anyway Sunday seems like a good day to start. So as of now, I wear a size 16 jeans. Hopefully, I'll be a size 14 in 2 weeks
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Fictional Eaters
Time, she can creep by without any call to notice her.
But, that's not what I wanted to write about. Part of my Pop Culture Homework Assignment for the summer was to watch The Gilmore Girls. (What a Pop Culture Homework Assignment is and the fact that its not been the summer for ages will not be things I discuss in this post. ;) ) Its a good show; its funny. The Gilmore Girls is that tale of a single Mother and her teenage daughter and it chronicles the lives of the ladies from the last two years of high school for the daughter through her college years. The show is full of rapid-fire, clever dialogue and this is likely part of its appeal. And, that's all fine. But, there was at least one thing I found troubling about the show: the amount of food the two main characters eat.
They make a joke about how they are famous eaters and often show them ordering large amounts of crazy things. You'll see Lorelai (the mother played by Lauren Graham) leave the local grocers with a huge nachos and a slurpee or Rory (the daughter played by Alexis Bledel) and her boyfriend will joke about the look on the waiter's face when she's ordered 14 different high calorie things at a restaurant and finished them all. In the show, they are shown sitting on a squash court having a chat and Lorelai once uses an old gym membership card to pick a lock ("Did you ever go?" "No, I'd just had Rory and I was embarrassed by the baby fat.") and there is an episode where Lorelai rides her bike to work because her car has died. Aside from that, these women are never seen exercising or going to or coming from a gym or eating a vegetable.
Now, this confuses me. Since they never had a story arc about someone over-exercising or having anorexia, it doesn't surprise me that their diets/lifestyle choices weren't something that was really discussed or shown. But, it seemed in the show that their eating was something that was portrayed as a quirk of the characters, or a cute character trait that was utterly adorable and that any man would find attractive. The message seemed to be, "Skinny girls can eat whatever they want, and its adorable." Which, I don't think was the intent of the writers, but it still makes me uncomfortable. Its interesting to me that a show that has many feminist leanings would be so blatant in its reinforcing of this one stereotype.
But, that's not what I wanted to write about. Part of my Pop Culture Homework Assignment for the summer was to watch The Gilmore Girls. (What a Pop Culture Homework Assignment is and the fact that its not been the summer for ages will not be things I discuss in this post. ;) ) Its a good show; its funny. The Gilmore Girls is that tale of a single Mother and her teenage daughter and it chronicles the lives of the ladies from the last two years of high school for the daughter through her college years. The show is full of rapid-fire, clever dialogue and this is likely part of its appeal. And, that's all fine. But, there was at least one thing I found troubling about the show: the amount of food the two main characters eat.
They make a joke about how they are famous eaters and often show them ordering large amounts of crazy things. You'll see Lorelai (the mother played by Lauren Graham) leave the local grocers with a huge nachos and a slurpee or Rory (the daughter played by Alexis Bledel) and her boyfriend will joke about the look on the waiter's face when she's ordered 14 different high calorie things at a restaurant and finished them all. In the show, they are shown sitting on a squash court having a chat and Lorelai once uses an old gym membership card to pick a lock ("Did you ever go?" "No, I'd just had Rory and I was embarrassed by the baby fat.") and there is an episode where Lorelai rides her bike to work because her car has died. Aside from that, these women are never seen exercising or going to or coming from a gym or eating a vegetable.
Now, this confuses me. Since they never had a story arc about someone over-exercising or having anorexia, it doesn't surprise me that their diets/lifestyle choices weren't something that was really discussed or shown. But, it seemed in the show that their eating was something that was portrayed as a quirk of the characters, or a cute character trait that was utterly adorable and that any man would find attractive. The message seemed to be, "Skinny girls can eat whatever they want, and its adorable." Which, I don't think was the intent of the writers, but it still makes me uncomfortable. Its interesting to me that a show that has many feminist leanings would be so blatant in its reinforcing of this one stereotype.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Long Days
So, all that progress I made over the summer when I had all that time to freak myself out about weight and other things has been partially undone in the last few weeks. The semester started. Tuesday starts week 5 (we don't have class tomorrow because of Yom Kippur). I'm taking four classes, I'm the president of my department's graduate student organization and I have a part time job. Needless to say, I'm a little busy.
And, my eating habits has gone to hell. To absolute hell. At least once a week in the past three weeks I've had a meal that consisted solely of dry toast (and at least once this has happened twice in one day). And, each time this came about by me opening the fridge, looking at the raw ingredients, considering the effort to make a quick stir-fry, closing the fridge and making toast. I've also eaten a lot of meat and cheese sandwiches. This is ridiculous because I have all these great fruits and vegetables in my fridge from my CSA share. Also, fruit and veg don't keep indefinitely, so I have to do something about them! So, today I am (despite the fact that in addition to my normal amount of work for this week, I just realized that the article I'm supposed to read for a lab meeting on Friday is seventy-one pages long.). I have a potato leek soup in my crock pot (made with whole milk instead of cream and with swiss chard added.) I have beets roasting in my oven, which will then by whipped into a soup as well. I have also pickled onions today and made zucchini bread. Most of these things will be going to straight into my freezer (or the cupboard), so that later in the semester when my CSA share is done for the season, I'm working on papers and I'm completely unhinged with stress all I have to remember how to do is thaw and microwave. At some point today, I'm heading out to a liquor store in order to purchase brandy. I'm then going to brandy some stone fruits I have. I've never done this before, and even though I've looked at recipes I'm going to wing it. My brandied fruit will probably only be good over ice cream or in brandied fruit smoothies, but whatever. The point is I'm not wasting the fruit and maybe this winter I won't be paying (completely) through the nose for vitamins. Maybe.
And, my eating habits has gone to hell. To absolute hell. At least once a week in the past three weeks I've had a meal that consisted solely of dry toast (and at least once this has happened twice in one day). And, each time this came about by me opening the fridge, looking at the raw ingredients, considering the effort to make a quick stir-fry, closing the fridge and making toast. I've also eaten a lot of meat and cheese sandwiches. This is ridiculous because I have all these great fruits and vegetables in my fridge from my CSA share. Also, fruit and veg don't keep indefinitely, so I have to do something about them! So, today I am (despite the fact that in addition to my normal amount of work for this week, I just realized that the article I'm supposed to read for a lab meeting on Friday is seventy-one pages long.). I have a potato leek soup in my crock pot (made with whole milk instead of cream and with swiss chard added.) I have beets roasting in my oven, which will then by whipped into a soup as well. I have also pickled onions today and made zucchini bread. Most of these things will be going to straight into my freezer (or the cupboard), so that later in the semester when my CSA share is done for the season, I'm working on papers and I'm completely unhinged with stress all I have to remember how to do is thaw and microwave. At some point today, I'm heading out to a liquor store in order to purchase brandy. I'm then going to brandy some stone fruits I have. I've never done this before, and even though I've looked at recipes I'm going to wing it. My brandied fruit will probably only be good over ice cream or in brandied fruit smoothies, but whatever. The point is I'm not wasting the fruit and maybe this winter I won't be paying (completely) through the nose for vitamins. Maybe.
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