March 31

Good morning

What a frustrating week with my weight. I cannot make heads or tails of the fluctuating roller coaster.

Early in the "diet week" I had a few small gains of 0.1-0.2kg (lower activity levels with eating close to 1200 a day, so that made a little sense). I dropped my intake back down and increased my activity levels expecting things to stabilize or drop back down. Instead I saw an increase of 0.5kg. Yesterday was my lowest activity level since Saturday, but this morning I'm back down to my Saturday weight. So confusing.

Tomorrow is a full meal deal on "readings" (weight, body fat, hydration, and bone density), plus I've added another app that does a lot of body size measurements. The recordings are not just hips, waist, height, & chest sizes. It includes left & right of forearm, bicep, thigh, & calf. Also includes neck & shoulders. Saturday mornings will be involved. Though that is part of the reason I picked that day of week as I usually don't have to work Saturday.

Today I started making a more serious switch up on food intake. We'll see how this pans out. Part of my still debating about that detox crap stuff that came with the protein mix package deal I got. It would certainly flush out the pipes. Directions pretty much indicate that you'll need a day or two to stick close to home. Just worried about side effects where I have dropped my caloric intake so low. 

It looks like my cat took a reaction to the antibiotics they gave her, so I'm going to have to call the vet today to let them know. The directions said to let them know if there was vomiting or diarrhoea  Before work yesterday, she was showing signs of soft poop so I didn't give her any. When I got home, there was definite diarrhoea in the litter box. So none of the antibiotics again. This morning was the last of the pain killers as well. She was starting to get use to them. Wasn't almost tipping over or falling if she shakes her head. 

84.0

Evening Ramblings

I am glad tomorrow is Friday. I have the weekend off work, though I have a to-do list that'll take me a week or 10 days. I guess I'll just pick one thing and do what I can. 

I had last week off, but got very little accomplished. I am finding my energy levels & interests rather low of late. I think part of it is stress related. 

Tuesday this week, I ended up taking my cat to the Animal Hospital. When I got home from work, she was acting ofd. When I picked her up, she sounded like she was in pain. I found a weepy sore on her back leg. On the weekend I thought I saw a small scab (can't remember if it was same leg), so I feel absolutely wretched for not investigating it more. I thought her reclusiveness lately was due to the wonky weather and her feeling her 15 years. It is an infection (due to allergy to something). I guess it is quite common, so I full clean around the place is needed (part of that huge to-do list). Part of me keeps thinking of previous owner had a bevy of kids and she didn't get a lot of peace & quiet. She usually gulped meals and sometimes fast enough she got ill afterwards. I had been planning on finding a new vet for her, I was getting worried she might be getting arthritis. The Animal Hospital helped me find a vet, so  I have a follow up for Tuesday's  incident scheduled for early April. Plus a full spectrum of testing & check up (they have a meal-deal package) when I was discussing options on the phone with the very kind lady. The place is close to home as a bonus. 

Adding to the stress, I am making a lot of changes to my life. At times, I am wondering if too many at once. I am tired of feeling like crap and being tired. I started I guess about 3 years ago, then stopped then started then stopped. But lately, so many people my age or younger I am hearing about are dropping dead or having major health issues from not cleaning their act up years ago. While I don't want to be one of them, if I have to be, I at least want to be one or two or a dozen steps working my way to getting things in hand so I have a less cumbersome recovery. The learning of new things when your an old mutt whole doesn't like going outside your comfort zone makes this challenging.

Dietary Brain Flitterings

So this week has been a week of gaining back some of the weight I lost even though I am keeping to the dietary limitations. 

So my head has been spinning about how to get it going back on track - downwards. One items that has bothering me when reviewing my food diaries on MyFitnessPal is how low my fibre intake has been most days. General agreements I have heard is that more fibre is better for the body - intake should be 20-30g per day.

Most non-western cultures generally eat a lot of the same foods day in, day out. Here in the western world, we like variety - a LOT of variety. It is supposedly some status symbol now I think. I want to read more about this food dessert thing. I know price of basic fresh ingredients is part of the equation, but one area is listed (near where I live) that I am unsure how it is listed a food dessert. That means there are other factors involved. I am curious now though. 

While I know eating the same foods day after day after day would not work for me, I can eat the same foods multiple days if I make a bit of an effort to change it up some; i.e., difference spices, sauces, add-ins. 

The flittering little idea that has been populating around is pick 4-5 items that are pretty decent quantity of fibre of vegetable origin and 2 that are grain based (leaning to lentils & something). I will make a "salad/coleslaw" like dish though every day it will have different spices. So the recipe will be always 2 vegetables, 1 rotational vegetable, 1 rotational grain, and go wacky on herbs & spices (maybe even difference types of vinegar or oils). Though the oils will have to be small qualities as they are generally fairly high in calories.

March 30

Good morning,

Another fucking again. I'm up to 84.7kg now. I am seriously considering not eating. This better be just because my period is about to start. I suspect part of it is due to the lack of roughage (fibre) in my diet. 

Well I'll be switching up the menu a little for the rest of the week. I've been eating a lot of chicken lately. Really, really tired of chicken. 

Sounds like the coffee is brewed. I'll babble more later. I have to call the vet today as well - one of the things to watch out for with the antibiotics started while I was sleeping. 

March 28

Good morning,

I guess I didn't get to add exercises last night. I had some issues at home. I'm dropped a teeny bit to 84.0 for now. 

Really tired this morning. I better grab some breakfast so I don't forget again. 

March 27

Good morning,

I guess I didn't gain today; but I didn't lose either. I'm still at 84.1 for now. 

Really tired this morning. No sleeping in until 9am as vacation is over. Add my neighbour decided to practice for whenever the next "Canadian Idol" until after midnight. Also back to issues with breakfast - I got dashing this morning and forgot to have my cereal. 

Today we start with adding a few light exercises this week. Another assessment of progress at the end of the week to see how this affects things. 

March 26

I had a small gain this morning. But after that drop of 1kg in 24 hours, I am not too surprised. 

Oddly, I am not bothered by it. Maybe this daily weighing is slowly settling things about the darkness of the scale. 

I do limit my daily weighings to just overall weight. Then once a week to get all the numbers - body fat (% & kg), body water (hydration), and bone density. Overall, the numbers weekly are trending in the right direction.

I know a lot of people have expressed to me personally concerns about what I am doing they think I am harming myself. I am working with someone. Though their criticism is annoying in some ways, I am decided to give this a try. 

Yes, it is a major/drastic change; but it is not permanent. Yes, I've heard all the stories about you have to make permanent changes for this to work in the long run. I am starting with a non-permanent change; then I am going to be slowly reintroducing food levels back until I find a balance. I think this will work. The goal is to have a permanent change sustainable new lifestyle. The drastic approach is forcing me to make choices. I can see directly how these choices will affect my outcome. 

Though I am expecting to see another increase tomorrow. I had full trimmings turkey dinner tonight with the family. Only thing I declined was dessert (ice cream bar). I had 2 salads (both with salad dressing), a turkey wing (barely any skin), creamy mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, & peas. 

This morning was 84.1kg. 

March 25

Another drop again overall for the week, Monday I start incorporating some light exercises. 

Net change thus far is drop of 5.3kg (11.6lb) body weight of which 2.8kg (6.2lbs) of fat. 

I am very pleased the body water (hydration) has increased from 46.3% to 47.0%. 

But for now, coffee & breakfast. 

Start of Week 1 

Weight - 89.3kg / 196.9lb 

Body Fat- 36.6% / 32.7kg / 72.1lb 

Body Water - 46.3% 

Bone Density - 5.9% 

BMI - 32.8 (obesity class 1) 

Start for Week 2 

Weight - 86.3kg / 190.3lb 

Body Fat- 35.8% / 30.9kg / 68.1lb 

Body Water - 46.9% 

Bone Density - 5.9% 

BMI - 31.7 (obesity class 1)

Start for Week 3
Weight - 84.0kg / 185.2 

Body Fat- 35.6% / 29.9kg / 65.9lb
Body Water - 47.0%
Bone Density - 5.8%
BMI - 30.85 (obesity class 1)

March 24

Today was a sluggish start. When I finally got moving it, it meant I ate around 11:30am. Headed out to see Mum for a bit & forgot my snack. So, it was not until 9:30pm at night before I ended up eating. Must remember snacks when traveling. Even if I had that protein bar thingy from Clif. 

Even with just two meals today - I had to change up menu plans. Curry chicken made with full fat coconut milk is too rich of a lunch to have pork belly for supper.  I had a centre cut pork loin roast in the fridge intended for freezing. So, I cut a thick chop off - half for supper, half for lunch the next day, the bone & scraps for soup. 

Today ended up with one of my better balanced macronutrient days at carbs 33%, fat 31%, and protein 35%. Only major issues are most of that fat was animal fat and fibre intake is really low. 

Going to be headed out brother's place again Sunday , though I'll be having family dinner. I am going to try to wing it without a kitchen scale. I will have to approximate what I'm eating; but by deciding today - I should be able to balance the rest of the day. 

85.0kg  //  31.22 (type I)

March 23

Today is a rough one. Really not feeling that well. I did not sleep well at all last night. Then the plow decided to clear the parking lot before 5am this morning. 

Add I have very little accomplished thus far this week. I had hoped to have about half my apartment cleaned (walls & ceiling) plus a cull by now. I've barely started. The walls & ceilings will have to wait. 

Still losing weight, though I am worried about the inevitable plateau. Next week I start exercising Monday night. That will likely mean less sleep than usual unless I pop into the office on Sunday for a couple hours. I will have to think it over. 

This week is the Halifax Burger Week for Feed Nova Scotia. I am going to have to refrain this week, I usually try one or two. I think there is a Ribfest around Canada Day, maybe I'll try that. I haven't gone to it yet. It doesn't look like there is a SausageFest this year. Maybe they'll be something seafood related. 

85.0kg  //  31.22 (type I)

March 22

85.3kg  //  31.33 (type I)

Another groggy start to the day I had my alarm set for to go off between 6:00-6:10. Just crawling out of the bed at about 8:20.  I am going to have to work on getting out of bed when the alarm goes off. Just shy of 6 hours sleep before the extra nap. 

I am really getting to hate food at times. This learning curve processing on what is a healthy portion. I still suck at protein intake plus I'm not so good at carbohydrates & fats. I find I want just eat one thing - only have to cook once. In an effort to limit cooking even though I usually do enjoy it, I've decided to limit my cooking basically to once a day. Breakfast will be oatmeal (add boiling water) or cereal unless it can be make with supper. Lunches will be leftovers of supper the night before (with the only limit if it is seafood & a work day). Supper will be the time to cook (if I do at all). Where the next day is a work day & meal is seafood, I will cook the next non-seafood meal as well so that two lunches will non-seafood and two suppers will be seafood. 

Speaking of eating, I guess I better have coffee and breakfast. 

March 21

Down, down, up, down, down, down, so it looks like you've got the handle on losing weight then whammy - head fuck, it's time to gain some. Though it looks like I dropped again. 

I had an absolute brutal time getting to sleep thanks to my tummy constantly demanding to be fed. I ended up taking a sleeping pill as I knew I was not going to sleep otherwise without eating. Part of me already thought I ate too much yesterday. Worst part about sleeping pills once you've weaned yourself off them? While they will drop you off like a two-by-four to the head, the next day they leave you feeling like you got thumped up side the head or like someone thought your head was a pillow & stuffed you full of dirty cotton or feathers. Blergh. 

Coffee is brewing though. 

85.5kg

Ideas Floating Around

So, I have been thinking instead of doing housework (kitty wanted snuggles and who am I to say no?). 

Since veggies are usually fairly low calorie (as long as you don't drown them in butter or sauce); I may try a bit of seasonal eating. Lean my meals more to those first leafy foods with a splash of peas, asparagus, & radishes. 

March 20

86.4kg

I knew eating that muffin before bed was a bad idea. I should have said screw it and finished the day with only a bit over 800 calories. 

Happy First Day of Spring as you shovel out the driveway on your way to work. I think I am going back to bed. 

March 19

86.1kg

Tomorrow is the first official day of spring and a storm supposedly coming in tonight. Better get my ass in gear to get supplies. But first coffee and breakfast. 

Yesterday was too much of a battle with food by skipping eating until 2pm. 

Good Night

So tired tonight. I really haven't been active, I guess it is an early bed for me. At least the bedroom windows are clean now. 

I have quite a few errands to get done in the morning before the snow storm tomorrow afternoon. Possibly 10-20cm of snow before turning to a "wintery mixed" precipitation before final switch over to rain. I think I'll hunker down til Tuesday. 

End of the First Week

I know there is a lot of controversy over how often you should weigh yourself and here I am trying to accomplish a daily weighing. I only do weight on most days with a once a week scaling to all the readings of that my scale will tell me. I got this one a few years ago because it will measure body fat percentage and calculate that as how much weight it represents. This is the primary value I want to see decrease. 

While I had some serious flip flops in weight this past week, overall I am down 3kg / 6.6lb - of which 1.8kg /4lb is body fat. The biggest accomplishment with this for me is that neither my bone density or body water (hydration) decreased. In the end, my body water actually increased marginally. 

While the amount is a lot to lose - this is only the end of the first week, I suspect the drop will slow down. I am dreading the part that seems to throw me off kilter every time - the plateau. 

I am on vacation this coming week, so being active will require more will power than go-to-work-if-you-don't-want-to-get-fired. 

Start of Week 1 

Weight - 89.3kg / 196.9lb 

Body Fat- 36.6% / 32.7kg / 72.1lb 

Body Water - 46.3% 

Bone Density - 5.9% 

BMI - 32.8 (obesity class 1) 

Start for Week 2 

Weight - 86.3kg / 190.3lb 

Body Fat- 35.8% / 30.9kg / 68.1lb 

Body Water - 46.9% 

Bone Density - 5.9% 

BMI - 31.7 (obesity class 1)

March 18

Start for Week 2
Weight - 86.3kg / 190.3
Body Fat- 35.8% / 30.9kg / 68.1lb
Body Water - 46.9%
Bone Density - 5.9%
BMI - 31.7

March 17

87.7kg

Today is Day 7 of the changes. Overall I have lost 1.6kg / 3.5lb. The biggest challenge is the hunger. While the volume of the food is nice, the body is use to portions heavy in calorie dense foods. The body misses the calories of the fried chicken & taters smothered in salty gravy and the heavy pasta meals, though my stomach is not missing them. I have had less indigestion this past week than in the two days prior to starting this.

I am finding the whole process is hard. Just grabbing a few things to toss together really does not work. You have to plan, consider, and think over choices - if I eat this much pasta, to balance the day I need to cut back on something somewhere else. The end goal will make the effort worth it in the end when this becomes an habit, but the transition period for the next couple months is proving challenging.

I have next week off from work on vacation; though it is more of a stay-cation. I am planning on:

·       major re-organization of home - especially the kitchen

·       adjusting my wake/sleep cycle 

·       start meal planning - just supper meals (lunches will be leftovers)

Saturday and Sunday I will allow myself more sleep time than I will be allowing in the future, but I have only had 36 hours & 51 minutes in the last 7 nights (average of 5 hours & 15 minutes per night). My sleep has ranged from 3 hours 41 minutes to 7 hours 8 minutes (weekend). Ultimately I want to get to work in the mornings early enough so I can take a full hour for lunch, so I can have 20-25 minutes for a walk.

Tomorrow is a full weigh in day with weight, body fat, body water, bone density, and BMI calculations. 

March 16

I forgot to weigh myself today before I left home and got into a project when I got to work. 

I am feeling really drained this week as I approach the end of the first week with the calorie restrictions. Though I think it is more sleep habits than a side effect of less caloric food options. Some meals are smaller, but some are just as big volume-wise. Just being more selective about what gets put on my plate. Items like fried chicken & taters are out for a while. Though I think when I re-introduce them, I'll stick with homemade renditions as the last while when eating fast foods like Mary Brown's, A&W, Subway, etc.; I have had a lot of tummy issues on top of the usual swollen ankles/lower legs. 

I feel like I am slowly getting the balance of eating better over the course of the day; rather than at supper time trying to cram enough in to be over 1,000 calories. Today I have less than 500 to use to be at 1200 for the day. 

Mini Update

Did better eating today. Yesterday I only made it to 924 calories for the day, but I had an upset tummy. 

Supper tonight was the last of the cheese & portobello ravioloni with pesto sauce. Shrimp and green & yellow beans to round out the meal. No photo as I was starving at supper. 

March 15

87.9kg

Quite the breezy night last night, I guess the gusts of wind got over 108 kph. Rough start to the morning again, though the late bed (due to late supper & the wind) is likely main cause. 

More homemade "instant" oatmeal this morning. Still tweaking the recipe only how much to blend into a powder. This morning I tried none. I think it does need some powdered though. Isn't quite there. Though I like the raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, pinch of sugar, and ground almond combination. Though I'll start expanding the cupboard stocks next week.

Yesterday I got confirmation that I did get all of next week off. That'll be a sort, declutter, and get my shit organized. But mainly, no morning alarms.

I didn't get my fish stew last night. With the late start today, it isn't looking good for tonight. Maybe the weekend. Maybe the last of the cheese & portobello ravioloni with shrimp. 

March 14

88.3kg

Up & down, Up & down. I didn't get much sleep last night either. A bit over 3-1/2 hours. 

I have a couple errands to run tonight that did not get done last night as I ended up working until 7pm. If time allows, I am going to try a quick fish stew. Though rough start to the morning trying to get out the door without forgetting something (due to lack of rest), I have to work until 5:30pm (if work load allows, I may use up some bank time).

Items needed:

• cat litter (this can be delayed until maybe Thursday)
• small tins of wet cat food
• a small day timer
• a new backpack

March 13

88.9kg

Up & Down
Day 1 to Day 2 was a drop of 1.9kg
Day 2 to Day 3 was an increase of 2.5kg

I found delightful-looking menu planning last Friday. It will absolutely not work for me. Maybe if I did not have a job, but had a lovely trust fund to pay for everything. The having to prep, cook, & service 21 different meals in 7 days. 

While the menu will not work, there is quite a few intriguing recipes that I am intrigued to try.  All involving more home cooked, fresh, whole ingredients. 

Figuring out a new menu plan is the next step - it will involve much less separate meals & more leftovers. Some of the leftovers will be given a new life as add-ins for another recipe on a subsequent day. I am thinking I will start with mainly just a flexible evening meal - printed recipes if I have something specific I want. 

One of the websites I was reading had some interesting warnings about taking into account lifestyle, routine work schedules, and also keeping a few key ingredients on-hand for a quickie, "Plan B" meal that you toss together blindfolded.

I think weekends will need to be a more focused time for me. Some pre-prep work done to simplify week nights without increasing expenses by purchasing foods already prepped for me.

March 12

87.4kg

Day 1 - Mar 11 start

Starting Point
Weight - 89.3kg / 196.9lb
Body Fat- 36.6% / 32.7kg / 72.1lb
Body Water - 46.3%
Bone Density - 5.9%
BMI - 32.8

New food intake plan. While pretty low calorie to start, it will slowly increase while physical activity requirements will as well. At least the menu looks pretty good. Easily adaptable to food dislikes & allergies. This will allow for a bit of flexibility in for variety as well.