Ask the Nutritionist - the results

Is it wrong if I want to invite my dietitian to dinner? She was so, so lovely and positive and helpful.

The me report: We looked over my food journal together and she thought it was fine, just that I needed to increase my protein intake, and my fiber intake tends to wobble a bit, so I should keep that a bit steadier. She let me keep my half and half! We spoke about what times during the day I eat and how much I eat before and after exercising. She covered all aspects of wellness, asking about my exercise levels, my relationship with food and my relationship with my body. I'll be having lab work done at my physical next month, and she'd like to see the results of those. She's also not keen on the recommended height/weight charts, saying "They are ridiculous, there is no magic number that works for every body. Please throw that out the window." How fabulous is that? I told her about my body fat percentage experience, and how my eyes had been opened to using that as a guideline, rather than a number on a scale. She said that was great, because muscle is 2.5 times as heavy as fat, and that it is not uncommon for some women to have percentages in the low thirties as well. Then there was the flattery factor, which will get you everywhere with me. She's the second person who has recently told me that I don't look like I weigh over 200 pounds, adding that I carry my weight beautifully. Thus, I want to hug her and put her in my pocket, and then go eat some pasta with her.

Also confirmed - 30/30/40 diet works mainly because it is reduced calories - not because of the magic proportions. It does encourage people to make a balance between carbs/protein/fat.

Low fat diets don't work due to the lack of satiety factor. This is so true for me! Fat is not the enemy. Saturated fats are.

She too does not believe in only eating good-for-you-foods all the time, because many times it leads to a binge of stuff you've been craving. Loving her...

Eating too few calories will cause you to gain weight, as the body is protecting you from famine. Because of my activity levels, 1500 a day was too low for me.

Vegetarian protein sources

• Beans - an amazing food, eat them as much as possible
• Edamame
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Cottage cheese
• Nuts and nut butters
• Quinoa
• Seitan/field roast
• Soy products - like the soy sausage I'm having for breakfast

Finally, when I asked her what would happen at my next two sessions, she said that she didn't really think I needed to come back. She said that she'd be happy to answer any questions sent to her via email, but that I had a good handle on what I was doing for weight loss. I truly admire someone saying no to money because it is unnecessary.

This was a fantastic experience and and really helped me fine tune my meals and my map to a healthy weight. Viva la dietitian!

Reason # 87,547 why I love my husband

Poor Mr. Black. He is married to a klutz. Last night as I tried to put my arm around his neck, I clocked him IN THE EYEBALL with my heavy silver ring - that is about an inch wide. Oops. Then as we were wrestling with our furry football to give him some medication, I squirted it at just the right angle, so it ricocheted off of our dog's teeth, to splatter all over Mr. Black's face - and he was able to confirm that yes, it does taste like bananas. And then I laughed. And through it all, I was forgiven. Good man, bad wife.

Ask the Nutritionist

I am taking my food journal to the nutritionist on Friday (the nutritionist - like there's only one, sheesh). If anyone has any questions they want answered, leave a comment about what you'd like to know, and I'll ask as many as I can.

This is my first of 3 sessions, so there should be time for lots of questions. Here's what I plan on covering with her:

• My personal diet, am I eating a correct amount for my activity level, do I need to be concerned about anything? (hi, half and half addiction!)
• Is there any truth to the 30/30/40 ratio I keep hearing about?
• What's all this hullabaloo about protein and strength training - do they really need to be in bed together?
• How can I get protein on a vegetarian diet besides soy? (I am not vegetarian, but I want resources to avoid the meats)
• Does eating an extra 3500 calories make you gain a pound in one weekend?
• If spinach and kale were to get in a fight - who would win? (I'm rooting for spinach)

I would like to ask about "superfoods" but there is a great website for that. The World's Healthiest Foods. So if anyone is curious about specific food's values, let me know. I aim to please.

HYC Check in Week 20

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Today the scale saw a 2.4 loss and I was at 222 on the dot. Oh, joy! That puts me at 68 pounds gone.

I'm still journaling - and oh my it is kind of scary when you see what you've done when you think you're just having a small amount of something high in fat or what not. I recently also had a mini-epiphany, what if I looked up my calories before I ate them? Well, duh. I was feeling snacky yesterday afternoon, but I looked up how much my dinner was going to 'cost' me, so I decided against it. That was easy. Why did it take me so long to realize that? Sheesh.

I'm going to have a challenging week - missing a work out, and then we have a friend coming in from out of town for the holiday weekend. That means social eating, which usually means social drinking. I'm determined to not go crazy with the calories. This recent success is too delicious to spoil.

And Friday, I'm seeing the nutritionist. I'm very excited. Hopefully she'll have some great insight on how to become 75-80% lean! Hope everyone else had a great week too!

I'm 63% lean!

What would make one feel the most vulnerable?

• Stating your weight out loud to a person you don't know all that well?
• Re-confirming that weight on a scale in front of said person?
• Having that person pinch, grab and measure your chubs to get your body fat percentage?

Lucky for me, I didn't have to choose just one. I got to experience all three! In step one of shaking up my fitness routine and diet, on Saturday I had my body fat percentage measured. I imagined that I would be gently pinched a little on my upper arms, and maybe around my tummy. And la, la, la it would all be over in a minute, and we'd laugh. Little did I know that I would be pinched in 7 places, and 3 times in each spot. (She also said most gym employees when measuring body fat, don't do it this way, and they do it inaccurately, and people walk around with the wrong numbers. Aren't I lucky that she was doing it the right way? I'm still sore!) I adore my YMCA trainer, I trust her, and to her credit, she warned me that it would hurt. But oy even with that warning - standing in your sports bra, with your pants just under your belly button in the office of the YMCA with a woman grabbing as much of your chubs as she can REPEATEDLY - not really a good time.

So here's the good news! I weighed in at 223 on the YMCA scale, which was a loss from Tuesday, and my home scale showed 222, which was glorious. Then, she found I was 37% body fat, which according to her calculations makes me 82 pounds fat, and 141 pounds good things like muscle, bones and organs. That was interesting to me, since that is around how much more I wanted to lose, around 78 more pounds. But according to her calculations, if I lost 35 pounds, which would put me at 188 pounds, that would make me 25% fat and is considered healthy. That's only 12% - and 35 pounds, that's easy, right? HA! None of it is easy, but it seems achievable. A little less daunting than 78. But I'm only 5'6", so I can't imagine not being considered overweight at 188. I guess I'll find out when I get there - no sense worrying about something that is 35 pounds from now! And my trainer also pointed out to not pay so much attention to the number on the scale, focus on your clothes fitting differently, and needing smaller sizes. So true! But, I'm still weighing in tomorrow. Come on, 222!

I would recommend doing the body fat measurement, even though it hurt - very informative, and I left my session feeling rejuvenated to keep on trucking. And now my trainer has an intimate appreciation of my cellulite, lovely.

Starring in my own Reality TV show

Dude, I feel like I'm on Temptation Island today - except all the seducers are sweets.

Today I have faced caramel laced coffee cake, with buttery crumb topping. It called my name, but I pretended to not notice its advances and I high tailed it out of there to eat my hearty lentil lunch.

Then there was a pile of peanut butter and molasses cookies, and as I refilled my water bottle, they asked me if they could come with me to my desk. I hesitated, because I thought they would make a nice after lunch sweetie treatie, but again I had to rely on my feet to take me away.

Just now, my co-workers have returned from their annual trip to the Tri-Cities and brought back a box full of bakery cookies, set them out 8 feet from me, and sent an email announcing their presence. I literally can smell the sugar cookies.

Jeez o petey! What's a girl gotta do to get through the day without a cookie in her face? No means no, cookie face. I deserve an immunity idol or something.

Tonight is date night, which means dinner in a restaurant that does not have nutritional information on their website. And then we're seeing these guys in concert. I get to laugh until I pee - and then spend the next three days repeating lines from my favorite sketches to anyone who is near, my favorite part.

So quickly, I'm writing publicly that I won't succumb to these oh so friendly cookies, because at dinner tonight, I may eat something that has cheese and/or butter in it - or both! I'm using the brilliant Cammy's SMART Splurge decision making process. 1) I still have sore quads from Tuesday's squats, 2) I'm going to Pilates class tonight and 3) I've been on plan for days and 4) I've got 800 calories to spend. Do I want to use those on a cookie that will taste good at first and then give me sugar crash in an hour? Of course not. I don't know why some days it is so much easier to be strong and other days it isn't, but I am taking advantage of it today - and getting the hell off this island!

HYC Check In

Oh that merciful scale! Today I saw a very kind 224.4 - which is just over my lowest low point, is a 2.4 pound loss - and I'm at the tail end of my cycle, so I'm thrilled to see a loss just for that reason alone! All I have to say is thank goodness for filling, nutritious and delicious lentils.

This week I continued my journaling streak - wahoo! I made all of my exercise goals, except for one day when I walked instead of going to the gym. That counts, though, yes?

This week I'm going to continue journaling, and exercise as much as I can - this is a crazy work deadline week. My food will stay on track, as my out of town guests had to cancel their trip at the last minute, unfortunately. (I was worried that I'd be eating out a lot - or preparing tasty but not so healthy meals for them)

And finally - I am certain that I am emerging as a woman who is losing weight, because today I am tucking in my shirt! I'm so crazy! Those in my real life know how big my tush and hips and belly are - so this is significant for me.

I hope everyone had a great week - here's to another week of hard work. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get my 65 pound loss bling!

HYC Check In

I'm down in my heart, and up on the scale. 226.8 today. This is only the slightest of gains (0.2), thank goodness. So maybe I'll break through this stupid gain next week. However, it seems official that I need to change my HYC bling to 60 pounds.

Over the past week, I experimented with adding more protein to my diet, to curb cravings. It worked pretty well. Not perfectly, but well. However, I think I have found a new way to be full and healthy. What has 42 grams of fiber, and 48 grams of protein per cup? LENTILS! I have the most delicious recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, and so I brought that for my lunch this week. Lentils, carrots and tomatoes. Sounds yucky, but if you like lentils it is fabulous. I ate it yesterday, and wasn't hungry until dinnertime. And that is the most important feeling for me.

This week will pose a challenge, my in-laws are coming to visit. They are not in the habit of eating the most healthy of diets, so I'm trying to think of meals that will appeal to them, but also not deter me. I don't think Lentils will be on the menu.

And my NSV this week, I journaled my food every stinking day. Hurray! I rarely stayed close to 1500, but I think that's not going to be a realistic intake for me right now. And that's okay.

Hope everyone had a great week! I know Diana did - wahoo! Go congratulate her on breaking through her plateau. And it seems that she was having the same problem I am - gaining on limited calories. So fascinating

Need some strategery*

I am a mild-mannered, meal planning, exercising machine Sunday through Thursday. Then Friday hits and it's like - wee-hoo! I am a crazed eating machine. Not crazed, but just not as careful. I know I'm not alone in this out there. I've even read that some "losers" as I like to call us, even recommend being a little more free on the weekends. Sometimes I eat peanut butter - off a spoon! And then I have pickles instead of an orange, and then in complete rebellion, I may even eat toast with butter on it for a snack. What's a girl to do when a strawberry ain't gonna cut it.

This Monday morning, the scale was up AGAIN. Not good. I've been logging my food religiously. I've been exercising, and making good choices. However, I experimented with trying to get in more protein in my meals this week to kick snack cravings, and that helped me a bit, but you guys, at the meals where I was eating 300-500 calories per meal, I still found myself hungry. Not I'm so bored, let's look in the cupboards hungry, but genuinely rumbly tummy hungry. What gives?

I do know one factor of my weekend undoing is alcohol. I'm not drinking a bottle myself and then eating a block of cheese, mind you. But we've been at social events lately, and I've indulged. So I know that if I cut back on the hooch, I should feel less snacky and won't waste calories.

So here are the issues flummoxing me.

• How many calories to eat? FitDay says that I am burning more than I am eating, which is good. I'm considering that I may need to eat more, since I am doing strength training 3 days a week. Also, in January I was eating a solid 1700-1800 calories a day and losing, so maybe 1500 is unrealistic. Don't know.
• More cardio? More sweating it out?
• Should I just learn patience and stay away from the scale for a while?

So what does a flummoxed gal do to regain her sense of action and controlling her environment? She schedules an appointment with a nutritionist! Blammo - done! Then she schedules an appointment with her YMCA trainer - and requests that said trainer will measure her body fat because the flummoxed gal, she is a sadist. Done! Neither of these appointments are happening for 2 more weeks, but they are happening, which is good. Until then, I'll still journal my food, and try and shake up my exercise, and lay off the hooch.

I can't wait to hear what the nutritionist has to say. I think I have the nutrient part down, but I want to look at caloric stuff and lasting longer on said calories now. I'm not so excited about the trainer part, it will be good for me, although way less fun. This whole thing is way less fun right now. I'll just keep reminding myself that patience is a virtue, not peanut butter. *sigh*

*I know how to spell strategy, it is just way funnier to say strategery a la a certain president we know.