Reminder

I can't forget to look at the big picture.

Fruit: The Data

So I use myfitnesspal as much as possible to track what I'm eating. Well, sometimes. But maybe I should back this up a bit. Through this whole process I've been trying to reduce the sugar intake I have each and every day. Sometimes I have 3-4 times as much as the daily recommended dose I'm supposed to have, which is a huge reason I'm not shedding as much weight now. To help this, I decided to throw in all the fruits that I eat into myfitnesspal.com and see what I'm consuming. Sure, I should be doing this every day, but lately I've been getting in a routine of only tracking what I think is bad so I can see how many calories it's worth. That being said, fruit wouldn't normally fall under that category.  I always knew that some fruits were high in sugar, but MAN! this really helped me gain perspective. Just ONE OUNCE of raisins have 2/3 the amount of sugar I'm supposed to be consuming in an entire day! This investigation certainly helped me realize what's good and what's not so good. Take a look!

	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Chol	Sugar
Grapefruit - Grapefruit, 1 med. grapefruit (256g)	70	21	0	2	0	7
Strawberries - Raw, 1 cup, halves	49	12	0	1	0	7
Apples - Raw, with skin, 1 medium (2-3/4" dia) (approx 3 per lb)	72	19	0	0	0	14
Bananas - Raw, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)	105	27	0	1	0	14
Oranges - Raw, navels, 1 fruit (2-7/8" dia)	69	18	0	1	0	12
Fresh - Bluberries, 1/4 cup	20	11	0	1	0	7
Blackberries - Raw, 0.25 cup	15	3	0	1	0	2
D'anjou Pears - Green D'anjou Pear, 166 g Medium pear	100	25	0	1	0	16
Pineapple - Raw, all varieties, 1 cup, diced	74	20	0	1	0	14
Watermelon - Raw, 1 cup, diced	46	11	0	1	0	9
Melons - Cantaloupe, raw, 1 cup, cubes	54	13	0	1	0	13
Melons - Honeydew, raw, 1 cup, diced (approx 20 pieces per cup)	61	15	0	1	0	14
Sun Maid - Raisin 1 oz Box, 28.3 g	90	22	0	1	0	20
Generic - Grapes, All Types, 20 med, 120g	68	18	1	1	0	15
Fruit - Kiwi Fruit, 1 Kiwi	50	12	1	1	0	8
Plums - Raw, 1 fruit (2-1/8" dia)	30	8	0	0	0	7
Peaches - Raw, 1 medium (2-1/2" dia) (approx 4 per lb)	38	9	0	1	0	8
Mangos - Raw, 1 fruit without refuse	135	35	1	1	0	31

And while we're on the subject, you should check out this artist. I recently discovered Sucre, and instantly fell in love!

Vacation Station

Just got back from a wonderful trip to Brown County. Camped a little, hiked a little, canoed a little, window shopped a little, ate a little a lot.
I had this mindset on my way down that the only time that we would go out to eat, that I would order a salad. The rest of the trip, I'd only eat what I packed in the cooler. Well, once again, I cheated on myself. Urg! Why am I continually making deals with myself? Over and over again.....here are just a few examples from this weekend:

"Oh, well, since the pizza is thin-crust and only has veggies on it, it's ok to eat." 

"This is brewery! You HAVE to get a hip beer!"

"It's freaking 97 out and you just got done hiking. Get the ice cream bar. It will cool you off."

"Today's your birthday! You can splurge! See if the cute ice cream place will give you a discounted cone." 

"What's a sandwich without the bread, anyways?! It won't be so bad and it's just two slices."

The said beer.

In all seriousness, I find that I talk myself into these decisions...and I pay for them. I've put on another 4lbs since I last stepped on. Not to mention I had a rumbly tumbly tummy and bad cramps for a few hours each day of my vacation.

So, I have yet to go on a trip without sticking to my nutritional goals.
Some day.
One day.

Grilled Salmon with Baked Sweet Potatoes

Yes please. 

Here's how I put it together: 

Preheat oven to 400

Go fire your grill up

Slice 2-3 sweet potatoes fairly thin

Spread out on cookie sheet

Drizzle olive oil (enough to coat) and sprinkle some salt & pepper on top

We normally cook the potatoes for about 10-15 minutes

Rip out foil that makes it into a square (you'll need as many of these as you have salmon fillets)

Stir in about 1/4C olive oil with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, salt and pepper

Fold up the sides of the tinfoil like you're making a tray for each individual fillets to sit in

Place tinfoil on medium heat and put your meat on

Brush the oil/lemon mixture directly on your salmon

Leave heat on medium for 10 minutes

Turn the foils to the right 180 and baste with lemon oil mixture

Slice the other 1/2 of the lemon and add a few slices on top of salmon

Another 10 minutes and the salmon should be done

My mom told me that if you take a fork to the salmon and it peels apart easily, then it's done (thanks mom!)

Pictures: Week 9

I'm mustering up the guts to post these. Maybe because I see progress? Maybe because I'm shedding pride? Maybe because I still need accountability? Still not really sure, and I certainly have a long way to go...but these results are pretty inspiring.

And just for kicks, above is a picture of me and Lydia, posing for a photo op at her recent boot camp that I attended. The weight I'm holding represents the weight I once was carrying- 20lbs heavier!

Success

Well, I'll just get right down to it.

I've lost 20 lbs!!!!


When I stepped on that scale on Wednesday, I literally had to step off and step back on again to believe myself. The thought of it still makes me smile! I mean, not that five or ten pounds isn't a great accomplishment-- I guess it's probably because it's the biggest weight loss I've had yet in my life, and I feel confident I can lose even more.

Everyone always says that you plateau at some point in your weight loss, right? Week 7 and 8 really proved that for me. I didn't lose one pound during the course of those two weeks...I only fluctuated like two or three pounds between days. I was a bit discouraged because I was eating really clean and getting out almost daily to put in some cardio. When I got on the scale, I had to keep telling myself that this must be plateau time and to keep pushing through and to not give up. Of course, on week 9, I was able to shed like 4.5lbs in four days. I certainly need to give credit to my love, Lydia, and my wonderful support group of friends that helped me through those rough weeks.

May Goals

Nutritionally speaking:

No refined sugars except in 85% chocolate- including protien bars. I am allowing myself to have the sugar from honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup- of course, all in moderation. I found a few products that use those ingredients to sweeten their foods, and it is such a treat!

One of the most difficult foods to avoid is the chocolate at work, and I really, really don't want to eat one bite of that.

I've really decreased my gluten intake. Right now the only source of gluten I'm eating is from whole wheat tortilla shells- A substitute for pizza crust. With that being said, I'd still like to keep it that way, but I don't think it will be difficult.

I'd like to focus on eating more vegetables and not so many sugary fruits like apples and pineapple.

Fitness per week:

-Core weightlifting 3 times per week
-Yoga once a week
-Cardio 5 times per week

I have been weighing myself just about every day for the past month. Bad. I'd like to limit that to once per week. More importantly, I'd like to try harder to listen to my body and not rely on numbers so much. I mean, seeing my weight loss is motivating, but I don't want to be so focused on the scale. Ya know?

Setbacks...

1. Last week was rough. Didn't lose any weight. In fact, I gained. It was hard towards the end of the week and over the weekend when I went on a weekend business trip. Frustrating. 

2. I actually didn't work out on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, which was hard. I had played a short match of tennis on Thursday, and I woke up with a screaming-bloody-murder charlie horse in my calf that night. My leg and heel were throbbing. Thankfully, Lydia gave me the day off to rest up on Friday, and I was ready to go by Monday morning.  

3. I started going to a yoga class last week. Feels great. I certainly need that stretching session, and I'd like to keep going once a week. I went again tonight and felt even more flexible than I did the week prior, but there's a long way to go. 

4. I've battled with myself to set my goals for the month of May...at times thinking big, and at other times knowing I'll fail. I've finally set them, and I'll make another post out of that some time this week. 

5. Lastly, I'm finally accomplishing one of my goals from week 6- to post a before and after picture. Not gonna lie, I'm still super self-conscious of putting a picture up here. Initially it's really embarrassing, but I think it will help me feel even more accountable.

On the left is week 1, on the right is week 7