Back at it again

I visited a Jenny Craig office to see if I could kick-start my goal of losing weight. Booked an appointment, met with a councillor and the end result was that I did not sign up with Jenny Craig.

I have been struggling with my weight for years and have tried various diets out there. I even tried Weight Watchers, but that fell to the side since my diet buddy couldn’t go to the meetings anymore. I need to lose weight, and not just because I want to look fabulous.. I am under orders to lose atleast 50lbs. So, this means I need help – ergo the visit to Jenny Craig.

One of the fabulous things about Jenny Craig is that the meals, for the most part, are already prepared. This is good for me, as it means I wouldn’t have to spend time figuring out how to reduce a recipe for 4 servings down to one serving. And as I sometimes don’t get home til late, it would be nice to have something I can pop into the microwave for a couple of minutes.

I can’t do Jenny Craig because of one really big reason – I am lactose intolerant, and for some unspeakable reason the company includes milk/butter in every dish…even chinese dishes like Chicken Chow Mein. I found that odd since most chinese dishes do not have any smidge of dairy in them. There are not enough food choices within Jenny Craig for me to feel anything but deprived. I am happy to say that atleast there wasn’t a hard sell and even though I am one less person they can milk for cash, they were honest about it.

So, what to do? I wandered over to an Indigo and was looking at diet guides/books. I have been down this road and there, in the middle of the diet book aisle I decided I would do a modified South Beach Diet. I say modified in that I am low-carbing it, to some extent, but nothing to the extreme that the first phase of SBD is nor Atkins. I eat carbs, but the carbs are found in vegetables like carrots, corn, potatoes and fruits like bananas.

I have also revved up my exercise regime. I walked home yesterday from work, and this morning I walked to work.

Unlike my prior posts I don’t intend on listing my food items, but instead will focus more on my emotional responses to what I am eating, how I’m exercising, and if I feel buoyed or not on any given day.

Today I feel good. This is the second day of my “new” diet and so far I feel extremely good. My toes ache a little, but that’s cos of the increased physical activity – I’ve gots good walking shoes. My trousers feel a little looser, but that could be wishful thinking or the trousers have stretched.

September 29th

I haven’t blogged in a month, and I have no excuse for it. I do plan on being more dedicated towards jotting down my points consumption.

Today:

Breakfast: 1.5c corn bran squares, 1.5c 2% milk – 7.5 points

Lunch: 1 chicken breast w skin, 2c steamed broccoli – 5 points

Snack: Cadbury Thins – 2 points

Dinner: Cellophane Noodles & Pork (WW Recipe) 2c – 8 points

Snack: 1oz cheddar – 3 points

Total Points: 25 points

This is a tad low and I need to work on introducing a few more munchies in my day. I should be aiming for 30 points per day. In the meanwhile I have re-started walking to work and managed to do 2km today in one direction.

August 19th

Oh the insanity. I haven’t eaten all my points, but I’m feeling quite full nevertheless.

Breakfast – I poached 2 large eggs (I tried my little microwave poacher), and half the flax seed bagel – 7 points

Lunch – 3oz pork, 1c mushroom/onion/green pepper, 1/2c potato, 1c cauliflower, 1tsp oil – 8 points

Dinner – (I didn’t use pasta sauce this time but instead crushed tomatoes, which has lowered the point value of my dinner) 85g whole wheat pasta, 3oz lean ground pork, 1c mushroom/onions, 1/4c crushed tomatoes, 1tsp oil – 10 points

Snack – 2 slices of high fibre no sugar added bread, 2 tsp margarine (yes, I measured it) – 4 points

Total of 29 points

I had a little walk this evening after work before hitting Dominion for a spot of grocery shopping. The walk wasn’t major, just about 20 minutes, but nevetheless it was some movement for the old joints.

July 29/30

Yesterday I didn’t have any bacon so I just made a mushroom omlette for breakfast. Lunch was my homemade chicken curry with steamed broccoli (I’m trying very hard not to eat rice). For dinner I purchased 200g of pork – fried it up with mushrooms & onions with a side of steamed broccoli.

I managed to walk 7350 steps, so that’s a slight improvement. Not the 10K I was hoping for, but better than 6K.

Today, on the 30th:

Breakfast – 3 slices of bacon, 2 large eggs scrambled with mushrooms, tomato and onion.

Lunch – chicken curry & cauliflower

I had told myself last night I needed to up my walking so this morning I walked to work. It took me nearly 40 minutes and when I got into the office I was quite the sweaty mess — thank the stars that I have personal wipes in the office. After 5 minutes sitting in my chair I felt good. I now feel quite energetic. I managed to walk 4600 steps between home and work. And since it is monthend here right  now I’m busily running around like a headless chicken, so I am racking up the steps. Yipee!

Not sure what to have for dinner yet. I’m thinking a really large salad.