July/August Weight Loss Challenge

[channlluv]

Are you drinking enough water? (and I don't mean diet soda!)

120 ounces a day, including four cups of green tea with stevia, and I never drink soda.

Diet changes lately include switching to sprouted grain breads, but that's about it. DH suggests cutting out bread completely and everything included in the White Death category. I occasionally eat potatoes, like, once a month or so. Almost never white rice. Brown rice sometimes. I do eat a lot of sandwiches, though. Meat, veggie (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber), whole grain/sprouted grain bread.

Pasta could be a culprit. We eat pasta a couple times a week. Salt, too. I do use salt when I cook.

This morning I had Grape Nuts with strawberries and skim milk. Lunch was at the martial arts studio -- we had a potluck. I had some veggie fried rice, about a third of a cup, and some kalua pork, and about a half cup of potato salad. I got there too late for the salads. All that was left was iceberg lettuce, so I skipped it. I also had a piece of the celebration cake (15 years in business).

Dinner will likely be leftover spaghetti and a salad.

I'm wondering if inflammation has something to do with this. I've been under a lot of stress for years. Or system-wide candida. I do get sugar cravings. Dessert is sometimes a Tofuti Cutie or Trader Joe's chocolate soy equivalent.

I do snack, but I'm not a binger. I quit recording my calorie intake in Lose It, though, and I need to get back to that.

Roxy

[ny biker]

120 ounces a day, including four cups of green tea with stevia, and I never drink soda.

Diet changes lately include switching to sprouted grain breads, but that's about it. DH suggests cutting out bread completely and everything included in the White Death category. I occasionally eat potatoes, like, once a month or so. Almost never white rice. Brown rice sometimes. I do eat a lot of sandwiches, though. Meat, veggie (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber), whole grain/sprouted grain bread.

Pasta could be a culprit. We eat pasta a couple times a week. Salt, too. I do use salt when I cook.

This morning I had Grape Nuts with strawberries and skim milk. Lunch was at the martial arts studio -- we had a potluck. I had some veggie fried rice, about a third of a cup, and some kalua pork, and about a half cup of potato salad. I got there too late for the salads. All that was left was iceberg lettuce, so I skipped it. I also had a piece of the celebration cake (15 years in business).

Dinner will likely be leftover spaghetti and a salad.

I'm wondering if inflammation has something to do with this. I've been under a lot of stress for years. Or system-wide candida. I do get sugar cravings. Dessert is sometimes a Tofuti Cutie or Trader Joe's chocolate soy equivalent.

I do snack, but I'm not a binger. I quit recording my calorie intake in Lose It, though, and I need to get back to that.

Roxy

If the sandwiches include deli meat, that tends to have a high sodium content.

Isn't 120 ounces of liquid per day kind of a lot?

[channlluv]

I've read you're supposed to drink half your weight in ounces of water. I'm 230-ish, so that's 115 ounces, give or take. I have 24-ounce water bottles, so I fill up five times a day. Slosh, slosh.

Roxy

[ny biker]

I've read you're supposed to drink half your weight in ounces of water. I'm 230-ish, so that's 115 ounces, give or take. I have 24-ounce water bottles, so I fill up five times a day. Slosh, slosh.

Roxy

Is this something you've been doing for a long time, or a fairly recent thing?

I wonder if cutting salt out of your diet (by cutting out fast food) meant you don't need to drink as much water now. Just a thought.

[channlluv]

Off and on for a long time. Most recently, about two weeks, but even before that, I'd get 80-100 ounces pretty easily. I don't drink sodas at all, or juice or milk or coffee, so that leaves tea and water. Sometimes I'll mix in Emergen-C or Gu.

I thought more water was supposed to flush water. Is that not true?

And a friend pointed out that a minute ago I said I rarely eat potatoes or white rice, but had both today. I honestly can't remember the last time I had potato salad or fried rice, and only did today because they were the only edible things left on the buffet by the time I got there (the other choices being fried chicken, cheeseburgers, skin-on roast pork, white bread rolls with some kind of meat and cheese stuffing, and sticky rice that was way over done). So I took small portions and made the best of it. (And I've been nauseous ever since, so I'm paying for even that. Figures. Mayo, probably.)

She suggested next time I go prepared with better food, which is a good idea, but there really are usually better choices. I just got there late today. The salads were gone.

I'm going to get a full physical on the 27th, so I should have some answers. I don't feel sick at all. Just bloated. And some twingy pain in my left kidney area. And a full-blown emotional meltdown this morning, which is why I was late to the potluck. Other than that, I'm good.

Thanks for caring. Really.

Roxy

[goldfinch]

I've read you're supposed to drink half your weight in ounces of water. I'm 230-ish, so that's 115 ounces, give or take. I have 24-ounce water bottles, so I fill up five times a day. Slosh, slosh.

Roxy

Here are some rough guidelines for intake of fluids, not limited to water:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

Of course, you can need more or less depending on how much you are exercising and thus how much you are sweating.

[channlluv]

Well, I'm walking a 5k every day on the treadmill in a hot garage/gym. I sweat a lot. I go through two full water bottles each workout, so 50 ounces, give or take. And I only go at a moderate pace, so I burn about 400 calories in an hour. That article suggests only 8-9 cups per day. I think that's probably for average-weight people.

Today I'm going to start wearing my heart rate monitor again -- something DH suggested after we talked about this yesterday. I'll have more accurate readings because it's got more accurate programming.

Breakfast was sauteed veggies with two eggs - no salt added - and two Trader Joe's veggie sausage patties. I'm heading out to the garage now.

I'll figure this out. Thanks for all the support and helpful suggestions.

Roxy

[Veronica]

Well, I'm walking a 5k every day on the treadmill in a hot garage/gym. I sweat a lot. I go through two full water bottles each workout, so 50 ounces, give or take. And I only go at a moderate pace, so I burn about 400 calories in an hour. That article suggests only 8-9 cups per day. I think that's probably for average-weight people.



Breakfast was sauteed veggies with two eggs - no salt added - and two Trader Joe's veggie sausage patties. I'm heading out to the garage now.


Roxy

Is it taking you an hour to walk three miles on the treadmill?

Your breakfast was about 400 calories.

Pre-made salads are not always the best choice at a buffet - lots of hidden calories in those.

Veronica

[channlluv]

Yes, about 55 minutes to walk 3.155 miles. I know, it's slow. But I feel like I'm working pretty hard. Please keep in mind I'm just shy of 47 and 100 pounds overweight and my knees are what keep getting injured when I overdo it. I'm trying to be prudent here, but I know I need to go faster.

I think 400 calories for breakfast is good, isn't it?

Roxy

[ultraviolet]

Roxy,

Have you considered walking less and spending a few of those walking days lifting heavy things or swinging around a kettlebell, or something else related to building strength?

It seems like you don't have much of a plan. You have a stated goal of losing weight, but not a working plan to get you to that goal. And seemingly, the things you've been doing aren't working.

Maybe it's time to do some reading, find or make a plan that you think is workable for your life, and put it into action. Things (like potlucks with limited choices) are always going to come up, but without a plan or framework--knowing how to eat, for example--we often just start making decisions willy-nilly and end up much worse off in the end.

My intention isn't to sound harsh. It just seems like you've been spinning your wheels with this since the beginning of the year. And you often seem to find yourself in situations where you make food choices that you question (or worse, berate) yourself about after the fact. That's just not helpful or productive.

[Veronica]

Please keep in mind I'm just shy of 47...

I think 400 calories for breakfast is good, isn't it?

Roxy

Hey, I'll be 45 in December, so you can't really use age as an excuse.

It's a fine number for breakfast. Mostly I was pointing out that your walk burns your breakfast and that's it. Those veggie sausages are a little higher in fat than I would like on a daily basis for breakfast. Yes, they only have 4.5 grams each, but as a percentage of the calories in the item, that's high.

Veronica

[ny biker]

400 calories is not enough for me for any meal, especially breakfast. I would get hungry before lunchtime.

Whatever your total caloric goal is, it's best to have more of the calories at breakfast and lunch and less at dinner, so you don't wind up so hungry late in the day that you overeat.

I generally walk at a pace of 3 mph when I walk for exercise. On the treadmill, I do intervals by increasing and decreasing the incline. Outside, I walk routes that include hills.

[Veronica]

... my knees are what keep getting injured when I overdo it.
Roxy

I have genetic abnormalities in my knees and feet - thank you paternal grandmother!- that have plagued me since I was a kid. Losing 35 pounds was the BEST thing I could have done to preserve my knees. I still have to be very careful - can't ever push a very big gear on my bike, can't sit on my knees when I'm on the floor with my class, some days I have to change my weight workout because my knees can't handle it that day...

This too can be overcome.

Veronica

[channlluv]

Thanks, ladies.

Ultra, you're right. I don't have a real plan. I do need to mix it up with weights. I'm back on my bike tomorrow, though. My 37-lb steel-frame MTB. The last time I lost 20 lbs, it was on this bike.

Veronica, I have to pause my walks because my feet hurt so much sometimes. Like a neuroma in the balls of my feet.

Roxy

[goldfinch]

Thanks, ladies.

Ultra, you're right. I don't have a real plan. I do need to mix it up with weights. I'm back on my bike tomorrow, though. My 37-lb steel-frame MTB. The last time I lost 20 lbs, it was on this bike.

Veronica, I have to pause my walks because my feet hurt so much sometimes. Like a neuroma in the balls of my feet.

Roxy

If the plan is to lose weight you just about have to reduce your calories. In fact, lots of exercise can make it harder to lose weight as it increases your appetite and people tend to overestimate the calories out when they are looking at how much to eat. There is some evidence that people who keep a food diary do better at losing weight. I have to count calories and keep the diary--I use the Livestrong site. If I don't count I know that I will not estimate correctly.