I found out the other day that my subscription to Self magazine includes free access to their diet site - selfdietclub.com. The site has some pretty good features - a diet tracker where you can record what you eat and it will count up your calories and analyze your diet and tell you how many calories you have left for the day, a place to chart your weight loss and exercise progress, message boards and the like. A pretty good deal for the price of a magazine subscription (especially if you were already subscribing to the mag, like I was ).
I'm told that the calorie lists are more complete at calorieking.com which offers a similar srvice for $39 a year, but for me, this Self site seems like plenty of features for me. I'm going to use it to track my calories and workouts and see if it helps.
Hi. This is the first time I am posting to you but while reading your H's letter, I got goosebumps. That was so sweet of him.
It's also a good reminder that if the *sweet* things aren't apparent to us, maybe we need to take a step back and look things over again. I know it made some sweet things that H has done for me pop into my head, and right now I really needed that reminder.
As anxiety producing as it may be, please try to enjoy the trip with your H. I read the wise advice you give people and I know you will find a way to make it through and enjoy your H and your M.
~StrongEnough
I'm moving on...at last I can see...life has been patiently waiting for me.
Me-32 WAH-35 DD-11 DS-4 H left 11-03 Piecing- 12/04 WAH again- 03/07 Married 12 years Divorce final May 15, 2007
Okay. This is making me MAD now! Today's weigh-in - 168.5 lbs. Not a budge since last week. This despite eating very carefully (using this SELF diet log has been great, but it just confirms what I already knew - I'm eating around 1600 calories a day, nicely balanced between carbs, fats and protein - pretty much exactly on their recommendations for 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein. And almost all my fats are from olive oil, peanut butter and avocados. And almost all my carbs are from fruits, veggies and whole grains.) And yes, I'm very careful about my portion sizes too.
I've also increased my workouts. So there is definitely something out of whack here. I know from past experience I should definitely be losing 1-2 lbs. a week eating and exercising like this. Time to recheck those thyroid numbers and do a little fiddling with my dose, I guess.
I am once again hovering around the 67 to 68 kilo mark this week. I have no excuses at all, I know I eat for comfort now and again, and should do more exercise.
Can I ask, is it possible that you need to lower your calorie intake just a touch? How about eating more food with a high roughage content, like raw vegetables? Carrot salad and stuff.
I want to ask you another question. Is it possible to reverse marks that look like age spots? I have always had light freckles on my nose and cheeks, but in the last few years I have noticed the appearance of a few coffee coloured stains on one cheek. I bought a very expensive cream by Estée Lauder (Perfectionist CP+) that purports to "correct" age spots. Been using it for more than a month and can't decide whether there is any difference or if it just the triumph of hope over reality!
Anyway, it is difficlut to judge the relative tone of a mark unless of course it completely disappears. I am pretty sceptical about most claims which purport to "help" produce certain effects, as they sound like weasel words to me, but do you know anything about this subject?
Livnlearn
"The unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates
1500-1600 calories is already at the low end for my size and activity level - should be losing 2 lbs. a week on that! Not sure it would be good for me to go much lower. Am already eating tons of fruit and veggies. Honestly, my diet couldn't get much cleaner than it is at this point, I'm not having cravings anymore, I'm keeping scrupulous track of everything I eat. Honestly, I feel like one woman quoted in one of my thyroid books, who went on weight watchers and followed it scrupulously and gained 2 lbs. a week! (At least I don't feel so alone when I read that. Fellow thyroid sufferers out there, you are not crazy, okay? Your doctor just does not understand this disease very well, okay?)
The sad truth is, studies show that people who have had their thyroids irradiated like I did (for hyperthyroidism) have an average 22 lb. weight gain over the next 2 years despite thyroid replacement. Nobody really knows why.
I'm going to recheck my thyroid levels today and if I haven't lost weight by next week I will push my dosage up.
As for the age spots - bleaching creams can work, although I think the over-the-counter ones are milder that the ones a dermatologist prescribes. There are other things a dermatologist can do to remove them as well.
Ellie--You may be at a plateau. And if you've had the weight on for more than a year or two, your body is going to really fight you on allowing it to go. I'll share a quickie with you that is only meant to break a plateau and be used for 3 days only... and never more than once every 4-6 weeks. It works splendidly for me, and I've kept the weight off for almost 2 years now.
Before I proceed, just checking to see if your water intake is sufficient? No matter how bad I blow my eating habits, if I'm drinking enough (and I drink 10 8-oz glasses of water every day), I can minimize the damage. Also, get yourself some protein bars--I buy Pria because the calorie count is lower and I don't need a big honking bar to satisfy me. Shop around if you don't like those flavors, but try to stay under 180 calories if you can.
Morning: 2 eggs, 1/2 orange
Lunch: 4-5 oz chicken or turkey breast or white fish, 2 cups green leaf lettuce with cider vinegar dressing (I've learned to love this.. the oil only allows it to stick to the lettuce, and I dip it with gusto)
PM snack: 1/2 orange and protein bar
Dinner: 6 oz lean protein (see above), 2 cups green leaf lettuce with vinegar
Give it a shot for 2-3 days, and you'll see if you were at a plateau. I used to dread doing this, but I like it now. I feel so much better afterward. Oh, and NO salt. You can use Morton Lite Salt sparingly (it's got more potassium than sodium). And NO brown sodas, because the coloring contains sodium. Diet and clear if you're going to do that, but I don't recommend it unless you've reached your water goals for the day (that is my cardinal rule now).
I hope this helps. I can get 2-3 lbs off by doing this when I do. I might just do this myself over the weekend.
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
I stopped over to see hoe the diet was going. I weigh in on Wednesday's. I joined a buddy challenge at the YMCA, so I have someone to push me. I'm down 6.5 pounds since the first of the year, and I'm working out pretty hard. I spin 3 days a week, and walk about an hour almost everyday,(with the dog). I just recently added 2 days of weights.......so we'll see where I'm at in a couple weeks!! I need to get better at the water drinking.....they say it really helps flush out the system.
Anyway-just wanted to stop by.....I'll be back checking in!! SA3
Bets - Thanks but I don't think I can call it a plateau when I've only lost 3 lbs. in 2 months (and most of that is probably water weight).
I'm good about drinking my water, and don't do any other beverages except green tea. I could try cutting my carbs for a few days as in your diet, but truthfully, I think I have to face the fact that the underlying problem is metabolic. There's no way I wouldn't have lost 15 lbs. by now in the past. Just the calories burned in exercise alone, never mind the big reduction in calories I've eaten, should have resulted in a lot more weight loss than this.
I am going to swap out my single slice of sprouted-wheat protein bread in the morning (it has a little soy in it, that's not good for my thyroid, although I wouldn't think such a small amount would matter.). My only other starchy carbs are a baked potato or rice with dinner, (and a tiny dab of potato in my frozen lunch)and I watch my portion size carefully.
I'm rereading my copy of the Thyroid Diet looking for other things I may have overlooked. Interestingly, she claims for some people thyroid hormone needs rise in the winter months. Can't say that I've noticed any seasonal pattern to my numbers but I'll look them over with that in mind.
SA3 - You will love working with weights. The toning and shaping you get just can't be beat. I think back to my 20's when I did a lot of aerobics but was never that satisfied with my shape even though I was skinny, and realize weight training would have done so much for me then.
).
Betsey