Diet, etc.

[jenn_unplugged]

Since I've got a few months before IVF, I'm going to try to lose a little weight. My goal is ten pounds, which isn't a lot, but the real goal is to eat healthier and more reasonably, which I figure will really help me if I get pregnant. Doug and I eat pretty well about half the time; we eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, we cook with quality ingredients, and we use olive oil almost exclusively. Of course, we eat too large portions when we cook, and when we don't cook, we tend to eat fast food because we're busy and tired. So we have good intentions, but we don't quite get there most of the time.

So my first goal is to try to become more conscious about the amounts of food I eat. To that end, I've started keeping a food diary, writing down everything I eat and looking up its calorie content. (This site is very helpful.) My goal for this week was to stay under 2000 calories every day, something I thought would be pretty straightforward. And it has been, but doing things like measuring out how many tablespoons of half&half I put in my coffee has made me really conscious of everything I put in my mouth. And that's the point, of course. I'm thinking I'll try to edge that number down next week and see how it goes.


I bought a yogurt maker a while back and finally had a chance to try it out yesterday. It was a lot easier than I expected it to be. You just boil milk and then cool it down (to about 112 degrees F, so you just need to keep a candy thermometer in it and check it as it cools) and then add yogurt starter (either a powdered version or a container of yogurt, sort of like you would do a sourdough starter) and put it in a warm place for 6-8 hours. The yogurt maker comes with little jars to pour the milk into and keeps the temperature right for as long as you need, which makes the whole process easier for someone like me who hadn't done it before. I miscalculated how long it would take for the milk to cool after I boiled it, so even though I'd started it in late afternoon I had to get up at 1:00 am to get the yogurt out and put it in the refrigerator. :-P In the future, I think I'll let it go overnight instead of trying to do it in an evening.

But I had a jar this morning with a few tablespoons of jam mixed in, and it was good! I'm not sure if it's any better than what you buy at the store, but I know exactly what's in it and how fresh it is, so I think that's good. :-)

Comments

[afb.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're doing exactly what you need to do when it comes to dieting. I'm a firm believer that changing eating habits in a healthy way is really the only way to do lifelong weight loss, and it sounds like you've got a great start on it! Counting calories (and portion control, as a side effect thereof) makes an unbelievable impact so long as you can afford to be patient. ^_^ I lost 20 pounds last year and have kept all but about five or so off. I'm back on the bandwagon, but it can be really hard at times.

My biggest issue is leaving food uneaten, especially at restaurants. At home, I can just put leftovers in tupperware, but out to eat it's like "Oh no, don't want to waste food, and it's not really enough to pack up!" And who packs up a fast-food taco? :P I'm trying to remind myself it's a sunk cost, and if I finish stuff when I'm not hungry, I'm not making better use of the money, I'm paying to make myself fatter!

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hear you on the restaurant thing! When I was a kid I spent a lot of time with grandparents who'd grown up in the Depression and couldn't bear to see anything wasted, so cleaning your plate at dinner was a big thing. In restaurants, the portion sizes are so huge it's ridiculous. And yes, some things (like tacos) just don't keep and it feels like a waste. Doug is fond of saying "It's the same price if you eat it or not," and I've managed to use that mantra to shed my guilt about not eating everything they put in front of me. (Of course, the bigger issue is actually resisting eating everything they put in front of me...)

When I was in my mid-20s I shed a LOT of weight by simply counting calories and exercising. I went from a 16 to an 8 in about a year and a half, and though it wasn't necessarily easy, it was straightforward and it worked. I've also lost weight at other points in my life using ephedrine (that was just before they figured out how damaging it was) and with Atkins (which worked, but I couldn't get past a sneaking feeling that it wasn't so healthy), and I know that the whole eating less + exercise really is the best way. It's just a matter of actually doing it.

Thanks for the reassurance that it works! Deep down, I know it does; it's just a matter of keeping my eyes on the goal. ;-)

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

Good luck with it! I found the sparkpeople.com website to be very helpful.

The padawan sort of took over my life so that I stopped keeping track of all the calories/exercise, and I gained two pounds back last month, but before than I was losing four pounds a month. Pretty sweet!

[jenn-unplugged.livejournal.com]

Is Sparkpeople sort of like an online Weight Watchers or something?

I'm going to see the padawan on Friday! :-D

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

I don't know much about Weight watchers. It's free. It has calorie counting, and exercise routines, and a whole system of motivation. I found it to be a great, supportive site. Very helpful. And not annoyingly gimmicky.