Mission Impossible

[JHudson04]

I know that dieting for an "event" isn't supposed to be the healthiest strategy, but my daughter's upcoming college graduation is proving to be an incredible source of motivation. My ex and his wife live out of state and I just found out that they will be travelling here, along with all my ex-in-laws, to attend the ceremony. I don't see him very often and don't have any romantic feelings for him, but I dread the idea of having him, all of them really, see me at my highest weight ever. When he and I were married I weighed between 115 and 125 pounds. I stayed around that weight range (following a low carb diet if my weight started to creep over 130) until a few years ago. I was put on steroids for a medical condition and my weight shot up to over 150 in no time! I've been off the meds for over a year, but can't seem to get back down to where I was. The last time I saw his new wife (and she's no petite flower herself) she made some crack about my weight gain that really made me angry. That was when I was still on the meds and couldn't do anything about it. I don't have any excuse now and it is time to get serious! Plus, the idea of being able to wear all of my skinny clothes in time for summer is very exciting!

So, here's the deal: I've got 8 weeks to do what I haven't been able to accomplish for the last two years. I am at 153 today and WILL get back down to 130 by May 26th. That means I have 54 days to lose 23 pounds. That works out to roughly .5 per day! Yes, I know it sounds impossible, but I'm going to give it my best shot! Here's the plan:

8 weeks of hard core induction: That means only lean proteins, lots of green vegetables, eggs, small amounts of cheese, tons of water and green tea. NO LIQUOR. (This is a tough one as I do love a glass of wine with dinner or a martini with friends on Friday nights.) NO ADDED SUGAR. (Not so hard really as I'm not a big dessert person, though I will miss fruit.) NO BREAD, RICE, FLOUR, POTATOES, ETC. I WILL EXERCISE DAILY. Three weight training sessions per week, daily walks/jogs, yoga.

If I stick to these rules, the extra weight will come off. Don't believe it's possible? I don't blame you. I have my doubts as well, but I have to try. I will post my progress daily and ask everyone reading this to help keep me accountable and focused on the finish line! And if anyone wants to join me in two months of hard core effort, I'd love the company and the support!

WISH ME LUCK!

[Lizbeth927]

Hello! Came across your journal and just thought I'd drop in to say hi. 23 pounds in 8 weeks is definitely possible! It sounds like you're really on track with your food plan, etc. I just started back on hard core induction myself about five days ago and am feeling great! I'm also hoping to drop a lot of weight by summer, and am aiming for 10 or so pounds a month. So if you need any support or just someone to remind you that YOU CAN DO IT, I'm here. Good Luck!

[JHudson04]

Thanks, Lizbeth! I definitely need all the support I can get! I notice you are from Michigan. That's where I'm from (and from where my ex still is!) Where in MI? I grew up in the Frankenmuth area.

[JHudson04]

I know it is water weight coming off, but this morning's weigh-in showed my weight down to 150.4 from 153 yesterday. Yay! It's very gratifying to see the scale jump after it has been stuck for so long. It encourages me to stick with it!

Yesterday's numbers were kind of scary. I was at 57% fat, 30% protein and 13% carbs. 1085 k/cals, 35 carbs and 10 fiber, so 25 net carbs. 5 over where I needed to be. I need to up my fiber intake and try to get the fat down. (I had bacon and eggs yesterday! Mmmm....bacon.) I drank a ton of water yesterday. Will try to keep that up. Went for an hour long hike in a hilly area. Am definitely feeling it in my butt!

I'm off to a good start, now I need to build on it. My plan for today is:

B: 2 hard boiled eggs, black coffee (not much of a b-fast eater, but I try.)
S: celery sticks and cheddar cheese cubes
L: Tuna and green salad w/ squeeze of lemon
D: Grilled chicken and broccoli w/ lemon

Weight training (arms) and 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Good luck everyone!

J.

[Lizbeth927]

Day two and you're already down over 2 pounds!! Woo hoo! I saw a two pound drop on the scale myself, but I went out last night with some friends and ended up having more than a few cocktails, oops I'm sure that had something to do with it. I'm actually from Indiana originally, I grew up outside of Fort Wayne. But my mother remarried when I was in high school to a man who lived in Lansing, so I came up to East Lansing to go to MSU and have been here ever since, almost a decade now! I don't LOVE Michigan in the winter, but northern MI in the summer is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Anyway, keep up the good work!!

[JHudson04]

I stuck to my system yesterday, both eating and exercising as planned, and was rewarded with another pound off the total this morning. 149.4! I know the first few pounds will come off the quickest, but it is gratifying to see forward progress. My stats for yesterday were:

Fat: 42%/43 g
Protein: 44%/ 103 g
Carbs: 13%/ 32 g (15 net carbs)

(I use DietPower to track my food intake and weight loss. It's an awesome program!)

I was on track for my water, though I do feel like I'm retaining fluid. Definitely more going in than coming out! Could be the sodium from the bacon. I'm going to cut it out as soon as this package is gone. (It's the only breakfasty protein I have in the house right now! Gotta get to the store...)

Today's Plan:

B: Bacon, 2 hb eggs
L: Tuna and celery
S: Macadamia Nuts
D: Grilled Chicken and Greens (broccoli rabe, broccoli and spinach sauteed w/ olive oil and garlic)

I usually split dinner into two parts, eating 1/2 before my workout and the other half after. I am headed to the gym again tonight for another 30 min. of cardio and a leg workout. I did a pretty intense (for me) upper body workout last night and expected to be sore this morning, but I'm not. I think the extra protein really does help with muscle repair.

52 days and 19 pounds to go!!!

[JHudson04]

I figured I better record my measurements now so I can use it as a benchmark later.

Bust: 39
Waist: 29
Hips: 42
Bicep: 12.5
Thigh:21.5
Body Fat: 29% (!!!!)

My Tanita body fat scale has too wide a range (electrical impedenence method, I think levels of hydration can cause swings) so I use this website to calculate my body fat: http://walking.about.com/gi/dynamic/...%2Fonline.html

[JHudson04]

Today is one of my long days...leave the house for work at 6:30 a.m., work all day, school from 6:00 p.m. to 10:10 p.m., get home around 10:40. Go directly to bed. Get up. Repeat. These are the days that I am most likely to fall off my little wagon. The break room is always full of cookies, soft pretzels, chips, sandwiches and desserts left over from meetings and goodies that people bring in from home. We have a cafeteria with a salad bar, but it's pretty sad most of the time. There is always the temptation to stop and grab something quick (i.e., unhealthy and definitely off-plan) between work and school. I did pack myself cheese cubes, hard boiled eggs and turkey breast, but that's it. I hate dragging a cooler on the train along with my laptop, purse, etc. We've got a Trader Joe's in the next block, so maybe I'll pop over there at lunch and see if I can't get some supplies.

Yesterday went slightly off track. My oldest daughter had a project for her world studies class that involved cooking a "foreign" dish. She came over and we made chicken biryani (an Indian dish with rice, chicken and spices.) It was delicious and we ended up having some for dinner instead of the grilled chicken and greens. I kept the rice portion small, but it still put me over my carb target for the day. It was very good though. My ratios for yesterday: 44% fat, 41% protein, 15% carbs. I did make it to the gym as planned though and had a really good workout. Half an hour on the elliptical and then a hard leg workout. I LOVE doing legs. I work out with my SO and I can manage the same weights/reps he does, and he's in awesome shape. Now if I could just get my upper body in line.

Today's plan:

B: 2 hb eggs, 2 oz. turkey breast
S: white cheddar cheese cubes
L: Yucky cafeteria salad
D: hmmm....maybe stop at BK and get a bunless whopper.

No workout scheduled as it's a school night. Will have a good long workout tomorrow night. Oh, and my weight for this a.m., despite my biryani experience, was still down nearly a pound. 148.6. Yay!

J.

[JHudson04]

My SO and I have entered into our own little body challenge. Using the 5/26 deadline, we are seeing who can lose the greatest percentage of body fat/pounds. He's in pretty good shape already and has gotten down to 8% body fat in the past, so he makes me nervous. But it's all good motivation. The stakes? Winner picks a sunny, beachy destination for a 4-5 day trip, loser pays! So, it really is a win-win. We'll both work hard at reaching our goals and in the end, we'll have a fabulous trip together! We're both competitive, but not in a mean spirited way, and I think we'll spur each other on. We're doing mini-check-ins every Wednesday. This should be interesting....

I was super good on my plan today. I ate my cheese/hb eggs/turkey breast as planned, but was not hungry for lunch, so avoided the yucky cafeteria salad bar. Snacked on macadamia nuts/cashews instead to keep me going until dinner. Dashed home before class and had a quick dinner of grilled chicken breast and broccoli. Drank a ton of water and green tea. YAY!

Stats:

Fat 57%/61 g
Prot 35%/84 g
Carbs 8%/15 net g
k/cal - 1000 (less than I thought I'd taken in until I ran it in DietPower!)

We'll see what the scales say tomorrow!

[JHudson04]

Weigh in this morning: 147! Yay!

Working from home today, which is such a nice benefit of my job. Nothing like pecking away on the laptop in your jammies!

Will head to the gym with Michael this afternoon. Planning on 1/2 an hour on the elliptical with the hill climbing program and then an upper body (arms, back and abs) lifting session. Will try to sneak upstairs and get in some stretching on the ball if they don't have any classes going on.

Meal Plan:

B: Sausage Scramble (brown crumbled pork sausage and pour in beaten eggs, cream, tabasco and seasonings. Scramble. Really good and really fillng.)
L: HB egg, turkey breast, cheese cubes
S: macadamia nuts
D: Steak and sauteed greens (broccoli rabe, spinach and broccoli blanched and then sauteed with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes)

50 days and 17 pounds to go!

[JHudson04]

Today was an awesome day! I stayed completely on track with eating/exercise and even added in a bit of extra effort at the gym. After my 30 minute hill program on the elliptical ended, I felt so good I threw in another 15 minutes. Then, I did a really intense arm workout. Twice as much as I had planned. I just felt really good and kept going! Michael didn't go along as he was feeling under the weather. I think he has the low carb flu that people talk about. Hopefully he'll feel up to the challenge tomorrow.

Dinner was especially good. A friend of Michael's gave us some venison steaks and burgers. I haven't had venison since I was a kid and my mom and dad snuck it in on us. (Dad thought he was the great white hunter. They also tried to pass off squirrel and rabbit as chicken...and they do NOT look or taste like chicken!) Anyway, we seasoned them up with a steak blend I make by grinding fennel seeds, caraway seeds, red pepper, sea salt, black and pink peppercorns and garlic cloves and then threw them on the grill until medium rare. They were really lean and very, very good. Michael was turning up his nose at it at first, but he came around. The sauteed bitter greens were the perfect accompaniment. It was tough not to overeat! I'm always ravenous after the gym., but I did add in an unplanned Isopure chocolate shake (very low carb...mixed w/ water) before the gym and it seemed to carry me through my workout really well and also made it easier to stop eating afterward without feeling deprived at all. My stats for the day:

Fat: 54%/82 g
Prot: 40%/138 g
Carbs: 19 net
k/cal: 1379

Anyway, gotta go watch the Phillies try not to lose (again) to the Marlins. Come on Phils!!!

[JHudson04]

It's shaping up to be another great day! I was 146 at weigh in this morning! I had a protein shake before heading to the gym. They aren't that bad really. They taste like weak Yoohoo, which I don't much like, but it's a good way to get the protein without the carbs and fat. I did 20 minutes hard labor on the elliptical for a warm up and then did another upper body workout. I figure I need to hit my weak spots (arms) harder than my legs, which are already where I want them to be. I had done a pretty intense upper body workout yesterday, so I went easier today. Lighter weights, higher reps. Michael is feeling better so he worked out today too. It's so much more fun doing it together. Came home and made quiche lorraine for a late breakfast. Very yummy! We're headed to his sister's house tonight for dinner and staying overnight to share Easter breakfast with them. They are on board with the whole low carb thing, so no worries there. She's roasting a turkey breast and we're bringing a vegetable platter. We've all given up drinking, so I don't have to use any willpower resisting the urge to have a glass of wine. Phew!

Here's the plan for today:

B: Protein Shake
S: 1 oz. turkey breast
L: Quiche Lorraine (saute cubed bacon until crispy, add in half a bag of baby spinach and stir until wilted. Spray a pie plate with Pam. Beat 6 eggs with a little low carb milk and a couple splashes of tabasco and S&P. Pour into pie plate and mix in sauteed spinach, bacon and 1/2 a cup of shredded swiss cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until eggs are set.)
D: Roast turkey breast and raw veggies w/ green goddess dressing

Fat: 37%/43 grams
Prot: 54%/141 grams
Carbs: 24 net
k/cals: 1053

[JHudson04]

We stayed at Michael's sister's last night with her family. They surprised me with birthday gifts and cards. (I turned 41 on 3/28.) His mother, sister and family have been so good to me. Completely the opposite of my own extended family! The kids even made me jewelry! Drew made me a mermaid necklace and Joelle, who is into beading, made me a lovely bracelet. I was so shocked and overhwelmed by their kindness that I broke down and cried. And I am NOT a crier!! I also got earrings, gift cards and a beautiful candle. They are very thoughtful people and their generosity means the world to me.

We brought candy and plastic eggs filled with money to hide for his niece and nephew. It was fun watching them scramble for eggs this morning. (No pun intended.) I stayed completely on plan last night (roast turkey, lots of fresh vegetables, no booze) and went to IHOP this morning for breakfast after the egg hunt. Had eggs, sausage, ham and bacon! It was a meat-fest! Also treated myself to coffee with half and half. I've almost totally eliminated the bean from my diet, replacing it with water and green tea. It wasn't the best coffee I ever had, but it sure did hit the spot! My girls (Alayna, 21, and Amanda, 19) are coming to dinner tonight. They come every Sunday night, but this time there is a gift bag waiting for them full of goodies and gift cards! I like chocolate as much as anyone, but it has not been difficult at all to abstain from all the Easter treats! I couldn't weigh-in today as we were not at home this a.m. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The gym was closed today, but I am going to try to sneak in a yoga DVD after the girls leave. I'm trying to do something every day and it is too cold to walk or run. My eating plan for the day:

B: Eggs, sausage, ham, bacon, coffee w/ 1/2 and 1/2
L: Tuna salad with mayo and celery
D: London Broil, asparagus, crudites

Fat: 56%/80g
Prot: 37%/120g
Carbs: 15 net
k/cals: 1302

Happy Easter everyone!!

Jodi

[JHudson04]

Well, it's been a full week since I began and I am pleased with my start. I was 146 on the scale still this morning (7 pounds lost!), no change since Saturday a.m., but that was also after two days of not having much control over what went into the food I was eating. (Restaurants, other people's cooking, etc.) and a higher than average sodium intake, which makes me retain water. I worked out 6 out of 7 days, which is also something I'm pleased with. I was going to do a yoga DVD last night, but the girls ended up staying later than expected and we watched a movie instead. It's good to take a day off now and again.

I think now that my body is adjusting to the new regime, it's time to throw it a curve and invert my calorie pyramid. In other words, instead of meals containing approximately the same amount of calories spread throughout the day, I will take in the majority of my calories in the a.m. I'll be using the "breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" strategy. This will help the scale keep moving, but it is difficult as I am not a natural breakfast eater and I'm always starving after my workout, which because of my schedule has to be after work and sometimes as late as 9:00 p.m. Still, with a little planning, I think it will be ok. I packed my food for the day and here's the plan:

B1: Protein shake made with 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder and coffee
B2: Slice of quiche lorraine
B3: 2 hb eggs
L: Roast beef and cheddar cheese, raw veggies
D: Protein shake (one scoop of protein powder, water)
S: Macadamia nuts (if hungry after workout)

I've got a late class tonight, but will sneak in a workout after work and before heading off to school. Lower body tonight and 1/2 an hour on the elliptical.

One week down...six weeks, five days to go!

[Lizbeth927]

Thanks for the support! You're doing GREAT! Keep up the good (and HARD) work

[JHudson04]

John Lennon said, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." That was definitely the case yesterday. I was sailing along happily, made it through B1 and B2 and then...bam...blindsided by my SO. He had discovered an old flame of mine looked me up and he was PISSED. I should have told him about it at the time, but it is such a sensitive topic and it wasn't anything I had encouraged or thought would happen again, so I kept it to myself. Mistake! Needless to say, a huge fight ensued. My appetite evaporated entirely and I went the rest of the day without eating anything and did not make my planned workout because we had to "talk". I did stop by BK before class and got a bunless whopper, but could only manage to eat a small part of it. Despite all the drama and disruption of yesterday, or perhaps because of it, I was 144.2 on the scale this morning, down fron 146 yesterday. I'm going to consider that a consolation prize and try to get back on track today, though I have to say I am still not hungry. Stress does that to me. My "plan", unless the universe has other ideas:

B: 2 eggs, scrambled, and 2 sausage links
L: Tuna salad and raw veggies
D: Big salad with grilled chicken
S: Cashews

I've got class tonight, but will be out by 8:10 and will sneak in a late workout before heading home. (Yes, we resolved things...sort of.) I'll do the lower body/elliptical routine I had planned for yesterday.

Here's to hoping today is better than yesterday.

J.

[JHudson04]

But drama free this time. Michael and I both enjoy sushi, so we stopped by our favorite place before class. I had a protein shake for lunch and then edamame, miso soup and sashimi for dinner. I did have two pieces of spicy tuna roll with rice, but as the rest of my day was carb free, I didn't end up too far over. Total diversions from my morning plan, yes, but it was nice to go out and have a relaxing meal (that someone else cooks and cleans up after!) to help smooth over yesterday's tension. My stats:

Fat: 41%/42g
Prot: 45%/105 g
Carbs: 14%/27 neg
k/cals: 937

Tomorrow is our first official weigh-in after Michael and I set the terms for our beach body boot camp. I was feeling better about it before the sushi! Rice and soy sauce....shudder. But not only did he have more of the same things I did, he ate the rice and had a beer. Ha!

We stopped by Vitamin Shoppe to get more protein powder and the sales guy spent a lot of time telling us how Atkins had it all wrong, blah blah blah. There is so much conflicting information out there it is nearly overwhelming. All I know is that I'm sticking with what's working, whether the VS salesman thinks I'm wrong or not!

Still sticking to the working out after class plan, so not totally off track!

[JHudson04]

Today was our first official weigh-in for the BBBC. The sodium bomb yesterday did it's damage and I was up from 144.2 yesterday to 144.8 today. Still, I've lost almost 5 pounds from our first weigh-in, 1.5 inches off my waist and 2 inches off my hips. I knew I was making progress yesterday when I put on a pair of pants that had been uncomfortably snug just a few weeks ago and they are now actually a little roomy. Michael did well too. He's down 3 pounds and an inch and a half off his waist.

My pyramid plan got delayed because of the drama of Monday, but I'm going back to that method today:

B1: 2 hb eggs, 2 sausage patties, black coffee
B2: Protein shake
L1: 2 oz. turkey breast and raw veggies
L2: Protein shake (finish L2 by 2:00)
D: Green salad

We're heading to the gym tonight for cardio and an upper body workout.

[JHudson04]

I should have said Michael was 1/2 an inch down on his waist measurement, not one and a half inches. I struggled with the tapered calorie plan today. It is tough for me to consume the majority of my calories early in the day as it seems upside down and runs counter to my natural inclinations. But, I tried. Got through B1 just fine, but could only drink 1/2 of B2 (the protein shake) before I got too full. We picked up Muscle Milk at the Vitamin Shoppe last night and it's my first experience with it. I tried the dulce la leche flavor today and it seemed oversweet, but I am sure that is only because I haven't had any sweets at all for several days. I stayed full all afternoon and couldn't manage any lunch or the rest of the shake. I did eat another hb egg before going to the gym. The workout was really good and I felt strong all the way through. Did about 40 minutes on the elliptical with an interval program and then did an upper body workout where I set the weight at my upper limits and did reps til the muscles were exhausted, took a brief break, then hit them again, and again, and again. I was working my upper body and targetting my biceps/triceps/pecs, so it didn't take too much weight to do the trick. We stopped by the sporting goods store after the gym and I splurged on some new workout clothes. For as much time as I'm spending in the gym these days, I don't feel too guilty about it. Dinner was roast chicken breast and a delicious veggie filled spinach salad with balsamic dressing. I had planned on just salad for dinner, but I was so hungry by the time we got home and the chicken just smelled too good to say no!! I finished the day in good shape. My stats are:

Fat: 55%/60g
Prot: 34%/83g
Carbs: 11%/18 net g
k/cals: 973 (it felt like a whole lot more!!!)

I use Dietpower to track my foods and it gives you a letter grade depending on how well you met your nutritional requirements. This is the first time since starting back on LC that I got an A! I'm sure it's because of the Muscle Milk shake as it is loaded with vitamins.

Now, gonna watch the Phils for a while, grab a hot shower and then CRASH!

[JHudson04]

Back to 144 flat on the scale this morning. I think my run of "pound a day" losses are behind me, which was expected, especially with all the weight training I'm doing. I'm hoping some of this fat is being replaced with calorie burning muscle! Today is one of my long days (6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.) so it will be much easier to do the calorie tapering, both because I won't be working out tonight and also because I'm not at home to cook. Today's plan:

B1: Protein shake (1/2 serving)
B2: Ham and cheese omelette
L1: Leftover roast chicken and cauliflower
L2: Protein shake (2nd half serving) - finish by 2:00 p.m.
S: Cashews

Fat: 52%/59g
Prot: 34%/85g
Carbs: 14%/27 net g (the Muscle Milk drives my carb count up)
Sugars: 6g (again, from the MM)
k/cal: 1029

I am going to try to sneak in a yoga session during the day. We'll have to see how things shape up at work.

[Lizbeth927]

Hey, thanks for your support! And even if your "pound a day losses" are behind you (for now! I bet they'll return in spurts) I'm SURE you are replacing fat with muscle. Keep it up! Also, let me know how the tapered calorie plan goes. I'm interested if your body will eventually adjust and what the results will be! Hope your day goes well

[JHudson04]

I wanted to wait until I was in a bonified stall before I added CO into my diet, mostly to test the claim that it can help break plateaus, but I decided I may as well go ahead and start now. I made a batch of the CO bark (4 tbs of coconut oil, one scoop of protein powder, 6 tbs of flax meal and 1/4 cup of cashews) and had two pieces for snacks. (It is so delicious after being sweet free for a while! It tastes like you're really getting away with something naughty, but one serving only has 5 grams of carbs and almost 8 grams of protein!) I also added about a tsp to my cups of tea and black coffee. It's especially good in coffee, though I know many prefer it in their green tea. I also used a bit in the pan that I made my omelette in. I bought the Spectrum brand as it was all the store had, but I usually prefer the Nutiva brand for eating and use the Spectrum (expeller pressed, does not have any coconut taste) for cooking. Still, it's what I had, so I used it and it was fine. Many people complain of intestinal distress when they begin using it, but it has never bothered me at all. I easily had the 3 tbs that is recommended. It certainly does act as an appetite supressant. I finally managed to follow my upside down calorie pyramid today and stopped eating at around 4:00 with my lightest meal (protein shake) for dinner. My stats for the day ended up being:

Fats: 59%/78 g
Prot: 30%/89 g
Carb: 11%/27 net g
Sug: 7g
k/cals: 1187

We'll see what the scale says tomorrow a.m.

[Lizbeth927]

Oooh, I definitely want to know if the coconut oil helped, I'll be checking in later to see! I