Nov21-Nov30

No loss again, however, no gain either after having those two big slices of pie.
A bit disappointed, could be due to anything; I didnt run as much, maybe I am not as good with the logging of food intake, maybe it will show up as negative next month. So only 2 pound loss for November 2008, instead of the goal of 3. Thats OK, I will take it.

Goals for Dec 1-Dec 10:
- R/W 5 days a week.
- Try again with the free weights, hadnt started because in the back of mind is the fact that when I do start weight lifting, I might gain some weight in 4-6 weeks due to increase in muscle mass etc; I know, weak argument, so get back to it.
- Add a fruit a day; in the last one month have had only 2 pears and 1 banana- in the whole one month!!! So goal is one fruit a day- pear/banana/grapes/apples- I dont like apples.

This is harder than I thought.

Apple Pie...

...the first of this season, 360 calories of pure goodness, with 1 spoon of vanilla icecream, no guilt, pure satisfaction, no desire to stuff myself.

Had walked this morning for an hour which burnt approx 300 calories. Will go again tomorrow for a 60-90 min walk, hopefully in preparation of another piece, but this time of pumpkin pie!!

Life is good:)

Food and Books

I love both and realised that just as I cant pass any chocolatey, gooey, creamy stuff, I cant pass up any magazine and just as I eat big portion sizes of the healthy food, I overdose on books.

Went to the library and they had an announcement of being closed for Thanksgiving. To me that is a signal of book starvation coming up, so I brought back 25-30 books, 15 for my 7yo so she cant complain of not having anything to read, rest for me. At this time I have 3 books on food and diet-'The Omnivores Dilemma','In defense of food' both by M.Pollan and 'Fit to live'by Pamela Peeke. I didnt know where to start and so I have started all three, keep forgetting what I am reading, keep reading the same stuff, get frustrated, throw them on the side and hit the pantry.

Talking of behaviours which trigger over-eating, for me a good book has to be accompanied by some food. As a teenager, my favorite past-time was to get lost in an Enid Blyton with a stack of sandwiches next to me. My mother would wonder how a whole loaf of bread would disappear by the time she came back from her evening walk!
Nowadays being able to read for even 15 min straight is a luxury, there is always someone whose need is more pressing, and as I get older, Ok, I am not that old, but still it takes me more time to assimilate material now than before.

Walked more , ran some, 3miles in 45 min. Nice sunnny morning, Right calf still hurting off and on so taking it easy.

Today on MSN, they have an article of the fitness of the OBamas- how they wake up early to fit exercise in their schedules. Good for them, and if they can do it, we can too- yes , we can!! Her arms are great tho. Free weights from today!!

Addition, subtraction and weight loss

Was teaching my 7yo some addition and to emphasise the point said "2+2 is always going to be = to 4, whatever you do."

Then the next thought was 'except in weight loss.'

Why ? , because it takes subtracting 7000 calories to lose 2 pounds but only 300 measly xtra calories on a rest day to put it all back on my petite frame.

Anyway, today had to take my 14yo for soccer game to a community 45 min away so had no time in the morning to finish my LSD. Out there its a place I'd never been to before so I decided to walk around looking at the houses etc. Its a relatively new community, each house in the range of 2-3million, with large lawns and landscaping around. The whole community has a loop of pavement running around it, which one kind elderly couple told me was about 4.5-5miles. So I started off, thinking I would just walk the loop in maybe 1h20min max. The loop turned out to be so hilly, with curves going up and down every few steps that it took me much longer. But the view was lovely- the houses, birds, golf course, the sunny cold morning, I thoroughly enjoyed it tho it took me almost 1h40min and I missed the first half of the game.

I will maybe run tomorrow, since today was the walk day.

Try and focus on the calories again, was so hungry when I came back that loaded on the bread with cheese omelette. Now the kids want to go to The Cheesecake Factory tonite to celebrate I dont know what and their Dad seems to be in an expansive mood so he said 'yes' which means I will be one expanded person soon!

Celebrating too soon..

So what did I do today?

I had a Daphne's vegetarian Combo Plate for a late lunch.
Damage done : 918 calories!!!
2/3 of my daily intake.
Problem was, I had already had another 300 cal just while waiting to get to the place. From 2pm to 2.30pm , when we had to pick up the 14yo to take her with us, I had some peanuts, and oreo cakester, 3 m&ms and that is approx 300 cal. Add the morning oatmeal and I am done for the day at 5.30 pm. So for the rest of the evening I can only have tea or water.

Why, why do I overeat on the rest days??. I have noticed that so many times. I think I will start walking everyday, maybe just 20 min on the rest days to remind myself of my challenge.

Well, the 2 pd loss was good while it lasted.

Soccer tournament tomorrow, so am running the taxi service again, so will have to plan when to do the LSD-6 miles, maybe while shes playing the 2nd game?

Nov11 to Nov20

and I have lost 2 pounds,two pounds!! Cant believe it, know that this could be simply water weight,BUT, I am 2 pounds lighter today. Much better than being 2 pounds heavier.

So how did this happen, because there definatly wasnt a change in the first 10 days.
What did I do better:
--I am more regular with logging the daily intake on fitday.com
--I have walked/run approx. 45-50 min 5 days a week.

Other than that I do not think I have done any thing major. Daily calorie intake has been 1500-1600, the one thing I have done consiously is to not eat out of the house, so I wonder how it will play out after our Friday lunch at Daphne's.
I log in the daily food intake in the morning itself so I know what I will be having for each meal and snack ,and how much. That way if I have anything out of the ordinary, I can factor that into the calorie budget and stop eating once I reach 1500 calories.

Previously whenever I started a weight loss program, I would only do those actions which I thought I could maintain for life. So I never counted calories, or went for long walks, thinking that I wouldnt be able to maintain it forever. That thought is still at the back of my mind, however, now the idea is to first lose the weight and then worry about maintainance. And if I do it healthily, it shouldnt be difficult to maintain. Exercise 1 hour a day is a must as it is, and counting calories is a way to teach myself about the correct portion sizes.

Goals for Nov 21-Nov 30:

-Walk/Run 5days a week, 60 min minimum, esp during Thanksgiving break.

-Try and get 100%of the nutrients in a day- this might be more of a long-term thing, my daily nutrition lacks in a few vitamins etc, so I will work on them one by one.
This session I will work on the Calcium- try to get 100%calcium everyday.

2 pounds gone...WOW!!!

Walking in the woods..

...well, not in the woods, but it felt like it. Its a tree lined street down which I walked today, 4mile round trip. And the trees have changed colors- brilliant fiery orange, lemon yellow, dark green, shades of maroon- an artists palette. I used to admire flowers but now have transfered my loyalties to trees. And the lawns are covered with the fallen leaves, all crunchy under the feet. Its like the set of a movie. I think I took longer today because slowed down to look at some of them- not that I mind, some walks should be just for pleasure.

Last year at this time my long walks were 2-2.5miles, nowadays 3 miles is a short workout!

Today went to the library for M.Pollans book- In Defense of Food, had to put that on hold, instead got The Omnivores Dilemma by the same author. The reviews are good, tho I guess I will just skip over the technical parts, not in a mood to read any heavy stuff. OTOH, decided to read some good books- to that end got Beloved by Toni Morrison, its been some time since I read any thought provoking literature, its been all candy floss magazines for too long. As I am getting more choosy about what I put in my body, so it is for my mind.

Thanksgiving Break coming up- 9 whole days with my kids at home, and along with kids come 3 regular meals, umpteen snacks, leftovers which I have to finish, candy, pumpkin pie, the couch and movies and popcorn!! So the plan is to do my workout in the morning while they are still in bed, 4miles in the morning and I am set for the day. And I have to start being more mindful of there eating too- they have developed a liking for taco bell bean burritos recently, have to wean them off before they end up like me.

Was reading today- the average american woman is 5feet 4 inches, 157 pounds. This is the first time in my life that I am above average- 5'3", 160 pds ;)
Hope to be below average soon!!

Random thoughts

Went for R/W 3.8m in 56 min. Have diagnosed the cause of the pain behind right knee- its because I did all those sessions of downhills and uphills a week ago. Was feeling OK when started but had a tight sensation in the right leg, heaviness, couldnt take a proper stride. Carried on for sometime and felt Ok by the time reached home. Lay down to do hamstring strtches and the right one is so tight and painful.
So within the next month I have to find somebody to do a gait analysis on me.

Diet is going Ok, log in everyday on fitday. That site is good, it gives the daily requirement, the calorie balance, the nutrition etc. But I dont agree with some of the calorie counts for the foods so try and match with the package counts.

I have noticed that running suppresses my appetite to a certain extent. So doing the session in the afternoon helps, I eat slightly less at the evening meal and the warm bath after helps me sleep better. Yesterday was rest day and I ate much more - just snacking and bits and pieces here and there.

I was surfing and came across this book- In Defense of Food by M. Pollan or Pollack. It has some good reviews on Amazon so I might get it to read over Thanksgiving Break.

...Which I am dreading because of the FOOD involved! Either one cooks at home or there is so much pressure to eat if you go anywhere else. I know the holidays come once a year but starting with the halloween candy thru Thanksgiving, X'mas, NewYears, its 4-5 solid months of eating. Doesnt help that my DH's b'day, our anniversary and my birthday are in Jan/Feb. So am hoping that the regular logging will hold me in check this time.

Havent done any free weights, tho do some yoga every couple of days and that keeps me limber. Might take the first week of Dec either complete rest from running or cut back to half of what am doing now. Need to give some rest to these old bones and tendons and ligaments etc.

Weigh-in in 2 days, lets see if there is any progress.

Little aches and pains...

...which I hope dont turn into major activity stopping aches and pains.

Woke up at 5AM, had my tea and morning snack, woke up the DH who is himself nursing his own little aches and pains, in the knees and foot, and who now cant run but has to do a measly walk with me!

Started at 6.11 AM, beautiful weather, pinkish glow to the sky in the horizon, 60*, perfect.

But could not run. Attempted it at 4 different times, each time, pain in the lateral part of left knee, as if dry bone rubbibg against something, and feeling of something loose in the right knee. So felt very dejected, went over the past few workouts in my mind, I was Ok till my last workout on thursday which was a R/W but I had started feeling something wrong in the right knee then. Maybe its just my shoes which need to be changed since I have used them for atleas a year. I was planning on buying them over the winter break , so as to start with new shoes in 2009, but I guess I will have to get them now.

Came back home and did some knee strengthenening exercises, specifically for runners knee- tighten the muscles in the front of the leg 10-15 times, or raise the tight leg off the ground 5-10 times. I have had this problem before and the exercises helped then, have to get back into the habit of doing these after each run, sorry, walk, for now.

Reading an old issue of Runner's World, and they say black tea has more health giving properties- preventing cancer/heart ds etc than black tea with milk, the milk negates the healthy properties. My knee-jerk reaction was: I will drink only black tea from now even tho it tastes yuck to me. The next thought was: what is the use of living even 2 years extra if I spend the next 30 drinking that medicine tasting brew? In other words why should I spoil my taste 3 times a day for 30 years to have 2extra years and in todays economy who knows if I will be able to afford it?

So, drink tea with milk, eat more chocolate and keep walking, run if I can.

2 weeks done...

...of this challenge,- nothing lost, everything gained.

Have been walking everyday, did R/W on wed , missed yest and today as soon as started running, within half a min had this uncomfortable feeling in the right calf, back of the knee. And also at the top of the left knee. Usually if I continue running, it goes away in a few min, but today it kept feeling as if something was loose inthe knee joint. So walked the whole way, might try the scheduled 5 mile tomorrow, or not, depending on how I feel.

The eating is a whole another story. Calculated on fitday.com: my basic metabolic rate needs 1700 cal every day, so to lose weight , I should be eating only 1400 cal every day, which is the most difficult thing to do.

The calories info on fitday does not match with the package info, so I try to put in the calorie no. as I see on the package. But I never realised I was eating so much. For example, in my eyes as long as the piece of bread is whole wheat , its Ok. Nope, one slice of whole wheat has atleast 100-120 cal depending on the brand, and fitday puts it in as 78 cal. So I have to double check everything and it gets a tiny bit tedious, esp for a person who doesnt like to get into the details of the matter.

My downfall is rice tho, one cup is such a meager serving, and I am not in the habit of measuring yet, so I just load it on- 200 cal per cup!! And lentils, supposedly very healthy, no doubt, a one cup serving in 333 cal. So if I eat both together, which is what I do mostly,- I can finish a whole days calorie goal in one sitting.

So I am not doing so good with the 'diet' part. And I was going to stop blogging. Then I thought that if nothing else, atleast I am trying. Tho the last time I 'tried' to lose weight, I gained 10 pounds. Anyway, if it takes even 2 months for this to sink in, like the marathon goal, atleast I will lose something in the end. At this time I will be happy even with a 12 pound loss at the end of the year.

So carry on eating and burning and logging.

I never lose...

...weight , that is. Anything else , of course. But these pounds are mine and mine alone.

Weight today, lost nothing,nada, zero, zip, zilch. Dissapointed, ?..., no, in the back of mind, just know that this will be one slow journey, that is, if I move. For a moment felt like giving this up, whats the use, lets have a tangible goal, accopmlish something, but then, if not now, when. I do need to take care of my health, have borderline high blood pressure, just the xtra weight on the joints not good over the long term, love sweets so might end up with diabetes if dont control myself now, there is something called Metabolic syndrome X- a combination of some factors which I might be having which can cause chronic disease later on- i just dont want to be on a bunch of pills which I wont remember to take what with my failing memory.
So onward and forward I go !!

On a better note, was doing the Wii-fit and my calculated age is 35 years instead of the 40, so thats good.
I cant make my weight go down faster but there are some things I can try and control, so for the next 10 days (Nov11-Nov20):
- do the scheduled workout sessions, 7/10 days.
- start the program of strength training again.
- eat everything, yes, including the pizza, but according to the portion sizes. Find and note down the reasonable portions for some common foods.

LSD 3.63m

Went for LSD yest, was supposed to be 4-5miles, but I did only 3.63, it started raining so I cut it short. BUT, i finished this distance in 51 min, this route which involves a long downhill and one of the big bad hills, this route which i previously used to finsh in 55-60 min. So that felt good, or maybe it was the rain making me go faster. Tho, I loved running in the rain, it wasnt pelting, just a light drizzle with warm temps of 60*, made for a nice sweet run.
And I did run for 5-10 min at a time.

On the weight loss front, tomorrow is weigh-in for me, tho I am not anticipating any loss, one pound??? how do u know its not water weight or if I have a salty chinese dinner, there goes any one measly pound that I lose.

I have to go for a walk today to complete the 5 scheduled workouts of the week. Have started doing yoga in the mornings again, or else feel stiff as a board. Walk down the stairs as if on cement legs and then as I do each pose, manage to loosen upa bit. Havent started with free weights yet, maybe next week.

Travel, EyeCamp, Life after marathon

I have been traveling and have been the busiest. NB, that's a good idea. I did donate while I was at the camp and was thinking of different ways of collecting money throughout the year. Usually, people donate some and the maternal uncle contributes the rest. Why don't we find a way, we can discuss the specifics later, so that both of us contribute atleast half? We know the money is going for a noble cause and I have all the details.

Life after marathon - am visiting relatives and friends - here the common goal for everybody is to achieve a size zero. People who I thought couldn't lose more weight have lost more, though the emphasis is more on looks than on health. Huge motivation here to lose weight.

Want to create a separate weight loss blog and yes NB, add a weight counter, but am just not getting the time. Right now am stealing some time from what I should be doing.

Keep writing NB, good job ( I hope I can say that for your weight loss too ;))

Motivation, exercise, diet

GB attended an eye camp last week where free eye operations were done for the needy.

I had a brilliant idea, as all my ideas are : I will put in a dollar for every workout I do towards a donation for the eye-camp. I dont know the specifics, how much is needed for one eye operation, but this is a selfish thing just to make me be more regular-with my workouts. A workout will be any session atleast 45 min in length or 45 min in a day if I have time constraints. If I workout 5 days a week, in 50 weeks I can collect $250. So that is the motivation...

...to exercise. Today was a rest day but I did some Wii-fit. I never actually tried it before and today I played this soccer simulating game in which one has to do headers- I never got past 300 points and today I got 506- 555 is the highest which GB and my 7yo and my dad- all Wii-fit experts, got. So that felt nice. As usual, if I am getting good at it, the first thought is 'I'll do this everyday', but I know I can never be regular. And that brings us to ...

the DIET. In which I am failing, miserably. OK, I know, its been only 7 days, and I have hogged huge amounts of chocolate in two of those, but still, dont feel as if anything is happening. Not that I would know, how does one 'know' if the loss is one pound of fat in 10 days. When I was preparing for the marathon, atleast I felt tired or sore or nervous or I had to do something, take action, move to prepare. But here the less i do the better. The less I eat, the more I lose. I have logged on my calories for this week, average is 1500, aim is 1400. Believe me , this is the most boring thing I have done, and thats what I keep telling myself- do it, lose the pounds, only because you find it a boring but difficult thing to do. If it were so easy, we would be models of fitness, and no-one would care about universal health coverage.

I love running...

especially when its on a gently downgrading road, so gentle that one comes to know its downward inclined only after seeing the elevation chart on mapmyrun.

R/W 3.11miles in 45 min, last 12 min continuous running- loverly!! Included the bigbad hill so am ok with the time.

The eating left a lot to be desired. As usual was oK till lunch time, had my tea etc and then the daily dose of chocolate from my halloween stash. The only thing was that didnt stop with that one, actually had a craving for M&ms but got a reeses PBcup, then a small milky way, believe it or not, had 400 cal worth of chocolate till 14yo had pity on me and gave me her small funsize bag of m&ms which stopped the binge.

Lesson learnt: either dont eat even a small piece of the trigger food- in this case chocolate, or else eat exactly what you are craving for. Easier said than done.

Felt so yucky after that went for the run and tried harder to run instead of just walk. Made only okra for dinner which even the DH appreciated because he was off from work and had been eating mindlessly since morning. Only the kids didnt like it too much , however they finished it after giving me their daily dose of grumbling and complaining. Thankless ...

Weekend coming up, dreading it eatingwise, at home the whole day, me and my pantry and kitchen and food, lets see what we come up with.

Mindfulness

Walked today 3 miles in 47 min. Its so cold today and dark at 5 pm. Just want to burrow under my comforter and sleep.

Came home, and ate my slice of toast with an egg which was lunch followed by a cup of tea. Barely an hour later , in walks in my DH, filling the cold house with the smell of delicious hot pizza. U would think that atleast this early in my challenge, and esp now since I am logging everyday, I would have more will- power to say 'no' and save some to have later. Nope, I ate my one slice and after 15 min another. It was the yummiest pizza I have ever had.

The logic was/is: I wasnt hungry, but this was hot fresh pizza. If I had saved it for later , it would become cold and stale. OTOH, I might not have eaten it then and in the process saved some calories. But this was eaten not mindlessly, I knew exactly what I was doing, hence only 2 slices, otherwise I can manage 4 at a time and it satisfied me to the extent that I dont need dinner or any more candy.

I finished the book today adn it has some nice sensible strategies for mindful eating which become mindless habits with time so one loses weight slowly and painlessly. I came to know that I am a meal stuffer- a person who eats fast, starts first and finishes the meal last and stuffs themselves at meal-times and also a snack grazer- who eats many snacks during the day out of boredom or nervousness. I have done that countless times- standing in the pantry, eating sweet alternating with salty and thinking about various aspects of my life.

Continue logging daily calories at fitday.com, I log in once in the morning everything I think I will be eating that day and then modify it at night depending on what I had. Lets see what shows up on the scale on Nov 10.

Running and math

Did R3/W1 4miles in 55 min, aim is to be able to do R5/W1 for the half marathon in May.
Had a downward inline of 200 ft which I faced while coming back home. And the aim is also to be able to run up this hill without taking breaks. Passed the high school cross-country team effortlessly climbing up this hill, envy them so much... but u no wot? I never ran like that, ever. Its always been hard labor for me, maybe thats why I gave up each time. But this time, hopefully will keep at it.

Now lets do the math. For a person like me, the daily calorie requirement for a sedantary person is approx 1700 cal- got this from the www.fitday.com - its a good site to follow. I call myself sedantary because the majority of my day is spent sitting- on the office chair or the couch.

Anyway, and 3500 calories make a pound. To lose a pound in 10 days, I have to use 350 calories everyday. I can do that by eating 1700 minus 350 cal or do 350 calorie worth of exercise.

Eating less is not viable, I never realised that the serving size of rice is half a cup and not one, and that even one cup of cooked rice is much less than the heap I eat each time. Oh, 'ate' because from today everything that goes in this body will be measured - atleast for this month, just to learn the correct portion sizes. Tho I think the old body is going to rebel at the sight of those meager servings and therefore I will go with one cup instead of half-For Now only.

So the next option isto move more. 5 days a week I should be able to get rid of 350 cal by r/w for atleast 45 min, will have to think for the other 2 days, which are supposed to be my rest days.

The run was good today. Tho I am missing GB.

Mindless Eating : Brian Wansink

Have read half of this book and the first reaction is'Duh!! I knew that!!' To which anyone can say 'then why didnt you follow it?'

Nicely written book, very simple to understand, we have read most of the facts in the form of snippets in various magzines, things like eating in a larger dish makes you eat more, eating with friends, using flat glasses for drinks, portion sizes, eating while watching t.v. or a movie, our own perception of how much and what we eat, I would say its definately worth a read. So far, not a whisper of counting calories. I liked the part I am reading now which talks about our habits with regards to food. I will make a note of each behaviour and analyze it with regards to my own habits.

My habit is to enter the house thru the kitchen and start stuffing myself. Its worse during the winter mnths because the house is so cold and I just want to feel warm - there is a study somewhere that states that cold makes us eat more. So today , instead of going to the pantry I put on the water for tea and heated up some leftovers. The changed into my warmest, fleeciest clothes, had lunch, did keep in mind the portion sizes, and felt better.

I am keeping a calorie log on fitday.com- I had used that site some years ago and as usual given up after a few attempts. Today so far my calorie count is 1450, that is after I have had the 2 reeses PB cups I wanted to- not eaten mindlessly- I tasted each bite and the 2nd one wasnt as satisfying as the first. Now a cup of tea, some t.v, maybe some weights , some more reading and then lalaland.

Running rewards

Went for my r/w session. 3 miles in 44 min. Its a gradual incline of about 80 ft over 1.5miles which I walked up because was having some shin pain, then turned and ran down the incline.

The reason for this post- to commit to memory the scene I saw when I turned around. It was the time just before dusk, the whole sky was pink-rose pink- bright pink, not baby pink but a resounding, singing pink. There are some days when just before sunset the last rays fan out from the horizon, today those rays were pink and golden and the sky above them a dark blue. Oh,to be a poet and have the words to describe that sky. The only thing I said on the run back home, and I did run all the way back, was Thankyou!!Just to be able to appreciate that scene. Hope I dont forget this ever.

Dieting, or not. Psycho analysis.

So I am going to lose the 36 pounds, in 365 days, but without dieting or resorting to pills, surgery, etc etc.

No diets. Could never follow them beyond the 2nd day. And as am growing older, give up by lunch time because the constant counting, holding back or any comment by my near and dear ones puts me off.

I have always been on the chubby side, and all the weight was on the tummy. When I look at my childhood pictures, I see a normal sized person except with a bigger than normal tummy. Tried to do crunches and abwork starting 8-9th grade and never lost that collection, maybe it was loose ab muscles or something. Gained some during college years, lost when got into a graduate program, kept it off for 5 years by being paranoid about my exercise and trying to miss dinner. I say 'try' because I would eat dinner like amounts at tea-time. But do not recall a single day when I felt as if I was starving. There was a phase when I tried fasting a day of the week, even on those days I managed to eat something or the other during the day. Was at my leanest meanest best at the time of marriage-105 pds. Still felt fat. Told myself on Feb 2nd-wedding day- enjoy this weight because u never might be this slim again..., and I never have been. Two kids and 17 years later, 60 pounds more.

Tried all the diet plans in these last few years. These plans work, make no mistake, that can be seen if one goes on the forums, but not for me.

South Beach diet : Tried it twice, gave up in 2-3 days. Just cannot follow a rigid program even tho this is the least restrictive diet. I am a vegetarian who eats eggs and dairy, but most of the recipes call for some form of chicken, and actually being a vegetarian does not neccessarily mean one eats more veggies. It can also mean that I just abstain for the chicken and turkey and replace it with floury products-lots of bread and other processed foods.

Weightwatchers: Yes, Tamara, I did try this, lasted 3 months, and that too mainly because I frequented the WW forums. Those are helpful. And I did lose about 7 pounds in that much time, but it seemed too slow then and I finally lost paience with counting the points and trying to figure out the points in various foods. Also in my case the portion sizes are so huge that counting the points becomes tricky. I still try to follow their 8HGs which are actually quite sensible.

No to certain foods: Went thru a phase where tried to giveup all white foods- white flour, white sugar, white milk. Lasted maybe one day, had a severe headache by the end of it because if I gave up all these foods which are a staple of my regular diet, what would I eat?? How many eggs can a person eat in one day?? And honestly I dont like fruits too much.

So , what I need to do is to overhaul my whole way of eating. Starting from the portion sizes to the mindless eating to the stress eating to the love of sweets, cleaning everything off my plate, eating loads as soon as I enter the house, eating instead of taking a moment to identify my hunger/thirst/energy level/boredom. No giving up any foods, try to eat right, to be proactive about losing weight instead of hoping it will come off at the end of each 10 day session.

Have started reading a book 'Mindless Eating'- more about it soon

Month1 , Days 1 to 10

Beginning of a new goal: to lose 36 in 365 days. Will I be able to do it?

The math is easy, lose a pound every 10 days, but the body doesnt work like that. Cravings, plateaus, loss of steam, days when I just give it all up, days when I cannot or will not exercise, memories of failing before, memories of gaining instead of losing.

But hey, whats a challenge if its not difficult? Marathon?, anyone can do it! Losing weight, now, thats difficult. Keeping it off , unthinkable at this time.

So, the plan.
Every 10 days I will examine one food related behaviour , try to work thru it, why I do it, when and how does it occur, how can I overcome it. Also I will try to build a new habit to replace the old. Thru it all continue with the running because am planning to run a half-M in May 2008.

What an amazing day to start this plan, one day after halloween!! But this morning my kids actually got rid of most of it. A local dentist had the wonderful idea of paying $2 for all unopened candy which they would send to the troops in Iraq. The kids ,and also their moms, would eat less candy, get less dental disease and the soldiers would appreciate it. Hey, I appreciate it.

My daughters gave me 6 reeses peanut butter cups and a milky way-large bar - I have to make this last atleast thru November. One part of me wants to finish it all today and the other saner part tells me to savor it one day at a time. Since its the first day of my challenge, I listen to sane Ms NB. Theres still 4 hours before bedtime tho'.