Lovely Diets

So, I am both inspired and shamed by Katharine's progress. Have revised my goal to a more modest ten pounds before Christmas. of course, this is the hardest time for me to lose weight, as it's paper writing time. But no excuses! Here we go...

Hey all (or Courtney, who is most likely this only person reading).
I have long been a skeptic when it comes to "diet plans" and "group meetings." Actually, I more fear "group meetings" than am skeptical about them. Images of women stripping down to shed those extra ounces for the week, having your weight announced to a large number of clucking chickens who celebrate your success while secretly hating you or share in your failure while secretly rejoicing... perhaps I have more issues than I thought!
However, after three weeks and a total weight loss of 9.8 lbs (!!!) I think I have to admit that it works. And that none of those scary things happen at meetings, and that there is probably a better meeting for me somewhere else, but certainly not one this conveniant (my workplace brought Weight Watchers to work so it's a short walk to a conference room every Monday at lunch rather than a drive off campus). As much as I have always loathed people's relationship and reliance on scales to give them self-worth and to perpetuate self-hate - a weekly weigh-in (where I do not have to look at the numbers) keeps me accountable.
Do I imagine I'll plateau at some point? Hell yes.
Is it alot of work? Yes.
Is it worth it? The cashmere sweater I'm planning to buy myself for Christmas says "Yes."
So, there you have it. Almost 10 lbs. I'm revising my goal:
I'd like to weigh less then I did when I went to college by Christmas.
I'd really like to hit my 10% goal by Christmas, but know ing that I've lost the freshman 15 (finally) and a bit is enough for now.

...who doesn't really exist except that one girl who once wrote us mean comments. And I bet she's gone by now, since neither of us has posted in almost a year. But that's not the point. The point is...we're back.

Well, we're trying to be back. We both have plans for striving down weight loss road again and would like to attempt to encourage each other from a great distance of three hours away. So here we are. Write and diet. Exercise and diet. Exercise and write. It's gonna be awesome.

My initial goal: 20 lbs. by Christmas (Will make long term goal later). Easy, right?
Katharine's goal: down a dress size by Christmas. 40 lbs. eventually.
Easy, right?

Okay, maybe not EASY. But that doesn't mean we can't do it.

So, since I've rededicated myself to health/fitness/good eating and the GOOD LIFE, I am ten pounds down. I rock.

The secrets, as far as I can tell?
- Walking around the city. Walking, walking, walking.
- Keeping careful track of what I eat (except those times when I end up at a pub in the Village, drinking a liter of beer and eating delicious rosemary garlic french fries)
- The absolute beauty and style of many NYC women that I would love to emulate
- New gym membership
- Being poor
- Little time
- Finding calming therapy in cooking complicated, healthy meals for me and my roommates whenever possible

So, I am currently 25 lbs. away from my ideal weight. Piece of (low fat) cake.

Wandering through the grocery store yesterday, carrying the extra twelve pounds I was able to gain through one European cruise, one week in North Carolina with a food-pusing family, and two months sampling the exciting cuisine that NYC has to offer, I said to my roommate: "You know what? I'm going to lose five pounds by Halloween."

Why not?

Today I have had: Green bean salad from Karen's on Astor Place. Included ORGANIC green beans, red pepper, soy sauce, and cashews. Also a few bits of some sort of whole wheat salad that had surprise scallions in it, so I threw it away. 1 bottle of water. 1 Diet Coke.

I'm planning on having dinner at Cafetasia tonight. Probably Thai Chicken salad (thai chicken breast over sald with light dressing) and maybe some rice or veggies. Veggies would probably be best.

Cuz Halloween IS right around the corner...

an indepth look at my recent lunch trend

Now that I'm poor (as usual) and lazy (as usual) and trying to save money while losing weight (odd), TV dinners start to seem like an interesting option.

Over the past two days, I have tried two examples of these frozen meals: Lean Cuisine's Chicken Pecan ($2.47 at Target) and Weight Watchers Smart Ones' Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans ($1.89 at Target).

Smart Ones Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans



Fat 6 g, Cal 310, Carbs 51 g, Cholesterol 15 mg, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Sugar 6 g, Protein 10 g

Serving Size: 283 g

Claims to use a 'Now Tastier South of the Border Recipe'.

Also, there was something in it that tasted and looked like zucchini, but zucchini is not listed in the ingredients. Chicken pieces and chicken broth were, however, which was slightly disconcerting as I didn't see or taste chicken and, until I read that, had been under the impression that it was a vegetarian dish.

Still, it tasted good (probably because of the cheese and sour cream), it wasn't bad for me and it was cheap.

Lean Cuisine Chicken Pecan


Fat 6 g, Cal 260, Carbs 32 g, Cholesterol 30 mg, Dietary Fiber 4 g, Sugar 6 g, Protein 9 g

Serving Size: 255 g

I found this box much more calming. Smart Ones had too much scary red.

This is part of Lean Cuisine's 'Spa Cuisine', which means it uses 100% whole grains, no preservatives and no artificial flavors. I liked that a lot. It was almost like Sonoma but without the chopping and cooking. Lazy Sonoma.

I also found the Chicken Pecan tasty. The tastiness of the dishes was very surprising to me, as I am used to frozen meals tasting like particularly chewy cardboard. I think this is because I've mostly tried pastas in the past.

Overall, though the Lean Cuisine is a little more expensive, if I had to choose one, I'd go with that. Probably because Sonoma has trained me so well. I am wary of white grains. Bad grains.

The thing about TV dinners is, however, no matter how tasty or healthy...they don't leave me feeling quite full. Almost full. But not quite. Not sure what to do about this. I may try adding a piece of fruit. Then again, if I started to eat regular breakfast again, I might not be so hungry at lunch and this might not be a problem anymore.

Day: 1
Mood: Bright Outlook
Weight: 34

That's right, those extra pounds don't WANT to stay on. They just need a little encouragement to drop off the face of the earth (or get burnt to a crisp in this heat).

Exercise: 30 minute speedwalk/run

Breakfast: Skipped because I am a horribly unhealthy person...and I didn't feel like eating my yogurt

Lunch: Chicken Pecan Lean Cuisine made with whole grain (6g fat, 260 cal, 4 g dietary fiber, 5 points), Maggie Moo's Red Bull Sorbet (I can't help it- they're EVERYWHERE!!!)

Snack: 2 pieces of gum, water; 100 calorie Nabisco snack pouch (Oreo. New Favorite thing.

Dinner: Garlic-Lemon Chicken (from book of Mediterranean recipes- Mmmm!) with whole grain rice and a salad made of lettuce and bleu cheese. White wine. Delish.


Quote of the Day:
Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast.
~ Epictetus

Day: I'm not counting this up...tomorrow I'll start over, at 1.
Mood: Nothing wrong with admitting I was wrong and starting over...
Weight: (hangs head and whispers)...36

I'm back.

Apparently, I have to account for what I eat (if only to myself). I kept eating like a runner when I wasn't running so much anymore and was back up to 30 by the beginning of the summer. Then I went on a cruise. Then I went to the beach for a week and ate constantly.

So...36 pounds to lose before I hit my ideal weight.

Okay. Alright.

Am considering hopping back on the Sonoma Diet, but I have very little money right now for all of the fresh food.

Exercise: 30 minute speedwalk/run

Breakfast: Sugar-free popsicle (meant to eat more, but somehow didn't)

Snack: Maggie Moo's Red Bull Sorbet (a co-worker won some for free from a radio station...only 90 calories and, luckily, tasted better than Red Bull)

Lunch: Weight Watchers Smart Ones Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans (310 calories, 7g Fat, 4g Dietary Fiber, 6 points)...have decided the secret to not spending lots of money/calories at work is to find interesting and easy things to eat...Pink20, Water for Women (no cal, full of vitamins and calcium and stuff women need)

Snack:Maggie Moo's Red Bull Sorbet (they left a lot in our office freezer), 2 sugar-free popsicles

Dinner: Persian roll (don't know what kind of bread this is exactly, but it only cost 33 cents), Spanish egg (with beans and orange pepper)

Snack: Smart Pop Kettle Korn popcorn (uh...entire bag), Hershey's syrup (not sure how much)...problem: I like to eat in the evenings while I write.

Goals:
- Drink More Water
- Develop new eating plan
- Develop new exercise plan
- STICK TO THEM!!!

Quote of the Day:
If at first you don't succeed...try, try again!