Bronchitis is kicking my a** (2011 Week 8 Update)

So, this week I am down another 2 pounds, going from 337.4 last week to 335.4 this week. Given the way things were going earlier on in the week (I was up to 338 again at one point) I didn't expect that kind of progress, but I think I can mostly credit it to being sick, especially yesterday. I ended up in the ER due to bronchitis/asthma combination and only ate around 1200 calories yesterday.

Today I'm planning on staying home all day, drinking lots of fluids, and hanging out with my kitties. No planned exercise for now! I'm worried because I read online that bronchitis symptoms can last 3-4 weeks. Hopefully I can nip it in the bud earlier than that. My doc prescribed antibiotics but also told me that most cases of bronchitis are viral, so they might not help. Also supposed to take some tylenol to reduce my fever and get lots of rest.

I've been keeping my sugar intake in mind all week and I managed to get my daily average of sugar intake down to around 112g, still higher than what my loseit friends are reporting (40-60g), but much improved over my past values (as high as 250). I am going to keep working at it.

I also did pretty well on protein this week, about 90g on average per day. I tried to have a protein shake with breakfast most days.

I did get myself back to the gym on Friday, for the first time in almost 2 months. Ugh. That's really bad. And because I wasn't feeling well I only walked for about 1/2 hour. But at least it was a step in the right direction.

I am still about a pound behind my gradual yearly goal (which wants me at 334.6 today) but that's fair enough. Life happens, and maybe it's not realistic to lose 2 pounds each and every week. But I will keep striving toward that goal.

A book I've been wanting to read came in at the library, Moose: a memoir of fat camp. It's a very candid look at some of the things that overweight children go through and I'm enjoying reading it.

I wish you all warmth and wellness!

Sugar problem?

Over the last couple days I've become both curious about and horrified by my sugar intake.

Today so far: 70g
2/20: 150g
2/19: 201g
2/18: 132g
2/17: 229g
2/16: 231g

Eeek! So that sounds like a lot to me, but grams aren't really that meaningful... so I converted to Cups.

Last week on average I ate 182g of sugar per day, (conversion factor 1 C = 196g), which is equal to 9/10 of a cup of sugar. Yuck!

I also wanted to compare this with what other people are generally eating... google gave me lots of estimates of what americans are eating vs what they should be eating in terms of added sugar, but not total dietary sugar (the numbers above are a combination of fruits, dairy, and also processed foods).

So I put the question to my loseit buddies, and lo and behold, even these other folks who have self-selected as having a weight problem they need to fix are only eating 40-60ish g of sugar per day. Shame on me!

Obviously sugary foods are a part of the problem, for sure. I have always had a sweet tooth. As I type this I'm eating a piece of my dad's leftover homemade birthday cake, 19g of sugar plus an unknown amount in the frosting/glaze I made out of, you guessed it, powdered sugar.

But another culprit, and one that I wasn't as aware of until now, cow milk. I grew up in a household where I was encouraged to drink nonfat milk all day, every day, even in the place of water, as a cheap source of animal protein. Most foods taste much better to me with milk as a chaser. Currently, nonfat milk is at the top of my "favorite foods" list on loseit, with 35 times that I've logged it in the last 4 weeks. And that doesn't even mean 35 cups, because usually I drink 1 1/2 to 2 cups at one sitting.

One cup of milk has 9 grams of protein and 12 grams of sugar. The sugar is lactase, and some people will tell you that because you are ingesting it along with some protein, it isn't as bad as eating just plain sugar.

There are *a lot* of websites about milk out there to try and dig through for accurate information. The dairy council pushes hard that cow milk is good for you and even aids in weight loss. Other sites make this out to be almost a conspiracy situation, pointing out that the purpose of milk is to make baby cows *grow* quickly, and no other animal on the planet drinks milk past early childhood.

I started researching other options. When I've tried soy milk in the past, it has tasted *too* sweet to me, which is saying something given my addiction to sweets. It does have less sugar than cow milk it looks like, about 5-8 g per cup. It seems strange to me that soy milk would taste so much sweeter to me but have less sugar than cow milk. Hmmm.

Unsweetened almond milk has ZERO sugar, but it also only has about 2 g of protein per cup, depending on the brand. Maybe a good approach, since I'm doing the whey protein mixes lately, would be to mix the whey powder with almond milk instead of cow milk.

And do my damndest to wean myself off the stuff as a drink. I have been trying to aim for herbal teas lately, which is doable in the chilly winter. And plain water, or water with a wedge of lemon.

Also, I need to be very careful when I'm shopping to check nutrition labels on salad dressings, jams, yogurts, pasta sauces, etc. Keep the sugar confined to just desserts. I really can't stand artificial sweeteners, and have a hunch that they give me headaches (and a suspicion that they are really bad for the body). So I'm going to try to reduce my sugar by actually cutting down on the amount of sweet, instead of substituting a chemical sweet.

It might be worth it to do a little exploring around stevia as well. Wikipedia says its extracts have 300x the sweetness of sugar but negligible effects on blood glucose. Sounds good to me.

I think this might be a good key toward my weight recovery, if I can get it under control.

Looking Up (2011 Week 7 Update)

It has been slow-going this week, weight-loss wise. The first day of the week I was up a pound, but I've been steadily and slowly going downwards from there and I'm now 2.6 pounds lighter than my last week's weigh-in, coming in at 337.4.

I hit this same weight, 337.4 about 3 weeks ago but my weight bounced right back up again. This time I think I'm going to keep trending downward. Just have to hang in there and hang tough. Once I hit below 330, I can start using my wii balance board, yay! I am still about 1 pound behind my gradual year long goal, but I am hopeful that I can catch up.

Yesterday my eating got a little out of control. On the way home from the post office I stopped at a donut shop. I've *never* in my life stopped at that donut shop. I bought 3 donuts and a thai iced tea, and by the time I was home and finished eating the loot, about 1000 calories later, I felt physically horrible. I didn't feel like eating the rest of the day.

I moved about a month ago, and I've been slowly unpacking all of my stuff, including clothes that I haven't seen in about 6 months. I was happy to find that this morning when I tried on a pair of pants I bought over a year ago that never fit me (I bought them online and was reluctant to return them at the time), now fit! I bet that's true of a few other things in my closet now that I'm about 45 pounds lighter.

I have only gotten rid of a few things that were too big so far. Not sure if I should save that one pair of "fat pants" for the photo op at the end of my weight loss, you know the one where I stand in them and hold out the waist line to show how far I've come, or fit both legs in one pants leg.

I did better on my protein goals this week:
Feb 14 119.8g
Feb 15 122.4g
Feb 16 90.8 g
Feb 17 59.2 g
Feb 18 121.3g
Feb 19 114.5g
Feb 20 tbd

There were those 2 days, again days where I was on campus all day, when I didn't make the mark, but overall much better.

I have an appointment with a podiatrist to try a cortisone injection for my plantar fascitis. It's in a couple weeks.

Competition between friends?

Yesterday I got a facebook message from a good friend of mine in town who I go on walks or hikes with about once a week. She and another friend of ours are thinking about doing a 3 month long "biggest loser" style weight loss contest, and wondered if I would like to join. Everyone would put $50 in the pot and whoever lost the highest percentage of body weight at the end of 3 months would get the total in the form of a gift card for massage or spa type treats.

I had mixed feelings about joining in. I've told that friend what I weigh before, so I don't think that's the issue really. It's more a reluctance to be in a competition with friends, and over something so personal. And, $50 is a lot of money to commit to anything non-necessary for me right now. On the other hand, maybe it would be a good motivation toward my goal and provide more incentive when I'm making the little daily decisions to make the right decision.

Anyway, I wrote back, said I "might" be interested and asked her when they were planning on starting. I would guess at the beginning of next month. I'm heavier than both of them by quite a bit...which could be both a blessing an a curse. If I lose 2 pounds per week for the whole time, that would only be about 7% weight loss, but if they lose 2 pounds per week for the whole time, that would be more like 9% for one and 12% for the other. On the other hand, it is supposed to be easier to lose larger amounts of weight the further you are from your goal. Like the 1% rule; for the average person 2 pounds per week is the maximum rate of loss you want to have to lose it healthfully, but for me right now, 3 or 3.5 pounds per week would be alright because that's only 1% of my current weight. But I don't often lose 3.5 pounds in one week.

Another thing that troubles me is my own instant temptation when money is at stake, even a relatively small amount between friends, to cheat somehow. I doubt I really would... but it bothers me that it would even occur to me. Like overdoing on salt before the first weigh-in to bloat myself. What a thought! Ugh.

If I do this, I'm going to do it the right way and be completely honest with myself and them. Do my best, but not go overboard. Just use it as incentive to step up my workouts and dietary decisions.

Frustrated, hormonal and sad (2010 Week 6 Update)

My weekly weigh-in this morning was 340 lbs. That's only up 0.2 pounds from last Sunday at this time, so basically I held constant. and I'm now 1.5 pounds *behind* my gradual 2011 year goal, which is frustrating the heck out of me. But, I have to remind myself that it is that time of the month and I bet this week the numbers will start behaving again. Also, I did really well by going on that hike last week (even if I was in agony afterward due to my foot). And I did well with staying under my calorie budget generally... by the end of the week loseit said a had a 1370 calorie deficit.

I really felt like crap most of yesterday. Slept in late, did some painting (home repair type, not artistic type), a little gardening, watched some t.v. At night I drove over to the pet store to buy a deshedding tool for my cats (I'm hoping it will help prevent mats). Then went over to my parents' house because I was feeling lonely and blah but I didn't have the attention span for the movie my dad was watching. I went to the drugstore then and made retail therapy impulse buys of new makeup and some hair products, and wandered around for a bit more considering buying random crap I didn't need... among them, a counter top herb garden. I really don't need that if I have an outdoor garden, dammit. I didn't succumb, thankfully.

Oh, by the way, I didn't meet my 100g protein daily goal this week either:

Feb 7: 116.8 g
Feb 8: 89.5 g
Feb 9: 90.5 g
Feb 10: 74.5 g
Feb 11: 105.8 g
Feb 12: 76.8 g
Feb 13: t.b.d.

So looking at that, the two days I got over 100g were days that I had a very flexible schedule and was mostly at home. I can have a protein smoothie for breakfast (I generally didn't though...) but it's hard to bring one to campus for lunch.

I'm still kind of dragging, mood-wise. Hopefully this week it will turn around again.

Trader Joe's Instant Vanilla Pudding Looks Like Snot

...I'm just saying.

I got one of their instant mix boxes thinking it would make a good low-ish cal snack, 90 calories for 1/2 cup. I follow the directions on the box to a T and what do I get? Pale translucent yellow, runny, gelatinous goo.

It tastes alright (mostly just like sugar) but I don't think I'll be repeating this purchase! Strange because I like a lot of their other products.

...followed by pain.

After my hike yesterday I did a bunch of cleaning around the house and then hosted my brother and his family for dinner. By the end of the day I could hardly walk. My right foot was in so much pain whenever I would even put the smallest amount of pressure on it to hobble the next step.

My parents had invited me over to watch a movie with them. Whenever I am off my feet for a while and then try to get up again the pain is back -- so sitting still for an hour and a half movie and then trying to walk out to my car, well let's just say I looked seriously impaired.

My insurance situation is kind of wonky right now, but I've decided it's time to take the next step in treatment, which wound be a cortisone shot in the bottom of my foot. I've tried the stretches and the special shoes, and they do help some, but not enough. I've got one podiatrist in town that I'm allowed to go to (by my insurance) so I'm going to call up next week and see about making an appointment. Hopefully the shot will do the trick. Plantar fascitis sucks.

Another successful hike!

I went on a 2 hour hike today with two friends who are also trying to get in better shape. I consider myself very lucky to live in a place where you can go on a beautiful, sunny hike through the hills about 10 minutes from home in February.

I was definitely the straggler of the 3 of us -- to be expected as I'm about 80 pounds heavier than the larger of them. I was breathing hard, and I got an ache in my side for part of it, and I needed to take several short breaks to catch my breath again during the uphill portions. But I feel great afterward. We went out for a healthy lunch downtown (I had 6oz of baked mahi mahi and some wild rice, water to drink). My legs are definitely sore now but I feel energized and good.

Getting outside and being active (especially with fun friends) is such a good mood boost!

Couch 2 5 K Update, Aches and Pains

The morning after my first try at Couch 2 5 K, I had the worst plantar fascitis pain I've had in a long time, and also was having some sharp pain in my right knee with just walking. So, for the time being, I'm won't be trying to run anymore. I am going to wait until I get down to a more reasonable weight... what would that be? Maybe below 300 lbs? Below 250 lbs? I'm not sure. It is probably something I should try again at intervals of weight loss and see how I do, how my body responds. But right now it is sending me a pretty clear message that I should walk instead of run!

Plantar fascitis has been a frustrating thing for me to deal with. I think I experienced my first symptoms about 5 years ago. It has gotten worse and worse since then, and the more active I am on a given day the more pain I can count on the next morning. I have talked to my doctor about it. He gave me some stretching exercises to do, and suggested I buy some orthotic shoe inserts.

I bought the shoe inserts (something like this), and also bought a special pair of "orthoheel" shoes (something like this). I try to remember to stretch out my feet with the exercises he gave me at the end of the day but I admit I have been slacking a bit there lately.

I understand that the next step is to go to a podiatrist and get an injection of cortisone in the bottom of my foot, which I have heard is pretty painful but would pretty much take care of the problem as long as they get it (guided by myself) in the right place.

If that doesn't work there is also a surgery to consider. Rather not go there!

I've also seen various products online...foot exercisers that are supposed to strengthen your foot muscles and in so doing lessen the pain, and splints that are designed to stretch your foot while you sleep. My doctor didn't mention these things, but I sometimes wonder if they would help. I also hope that once I get down to a more reasonable weight, maybe that will ease some of the strain on my foot, but I know that even very slim athletes get plantar fascitis, so that's not the entire root of the issue.

Couch 2 5k

I started the couch 2 5k program today. I'm using a free one put out by the NHS available on itunes. today's assignment was 20 minutes of walking with 5 or 6 60-second bursts of running thrown in throughout. My "running" looked more like slow jogging, and I only "ran" three of the bursts that the voice told me to, but it felt like I got a good workout. I also ended up walking longer than planned.

I am still pretty big (~340 lbs) to be running so I don't want to endanger any joints or what not by pushing myself too hard. But I did work up a good sweat and felt like I was pushing myself. That is the first time I've tried to run in at least 3 years, and the last time I tried I ended up getting a *bad* sprained ankle. So I was trying to be very cautious.

Even if I end up spending several weeks on the "week 1" workout I think this will help me move more than I have been and add variety to my workouts.

100g per day protein challenge

I saw that one of my friends on loseit tried eating at least 100g per day of protein last week and had good results, so I'm going to try the same this week.

In order to help me reach this goal, I found a big tub of whey protein powder mix that my mom bought, probably a couple years ago, and never used. Each scoop has 22 g of protein. So I'll have 1 or 2 scoops of that per day mixed with low fat milk to make up any protein deficiency at the end of the day, while still staying under my calorie goal.

Let's see how my body responds to this change.

Off the Wagon (2011 Week 5 Update)

I'm up to 339.8 again, and that's after weighing myself 3 times in succession and taking the lowest number. That's up 2 pounds from last Sunday. Argh.

Excuses, excuses:
I have been sick this week with a cold. Exhausted sick. So very little physical activity (but my appetite has also been down, so I thought it wouldn't matter).
I'm in pre-cycle week so I could be retaining some water.

Another likely culprit:
My tutoring job started back up last week so I've been spending more hours on campus, and I didn't do a good job of packing a lunch to bring with me, so I was doing cafeteria food. I tracked everything I put in my mouth, and it wasn't above the calorie limit I set for myself, but it still could have set me back compared with eating mostly home cooked for the last couple weeks.

So that's frustrating. I've lost my lead on my 2 pounds per week goal. For the next week I'm going to return my colorie goal to the lose-it default for my weight, around 2300 calories. And as soon as I'm feeling 100% health-wise again I'm going to try to bump up the exercise. Also, on my last grocery trip I brought home more fruits and vegetables and salad makings so maybe that will help. I've been craving oranges so I got a huge bag of them.