STATurday

It's been a few weeks since I wrote about this little fitness venture I'm on, and I thought it was time to check in here.

The good news: I've lost 6 pounds since July 22, when I joined the gym.  I neglected to take measurements at that time, and didn't get around to it until August 1st, so I think it is too soon to take measurements again.  I think the healthiest approach to measurements is going to be doing it around the first and middle of the month.  I'm weighing myself every couple of days, just to keep track.

I spent last week at my parents' house, and took my T25 DVDs with me and did them all but Monday and Tuesday.  I pushed hard, got in a good workout every day, and felt good about my calorie intake, given the fact that I was away from home, we had several birthdays (including mine) to celebrate, and just generally being out of routine.  I'm tracking my calories and exercise on My Fitness Pal, and kept up with that while I was away as well. 

At home, I've been getting to the gym 5 days a week, but am shooting for 6.  I'm doing a minimum of 2.5 miles on the treadmill, doing hill intervals at 3.5-4.0 mph, or intervals on the elliptical for 30 minutes, which is generally about 4 miles at 50-60 miles per hour.  I'm starting to get up to 3 miles on the treadmill, and have added in some strength training with weight machines.  My goal is to burn 300 calories in a cardio workout, and anything else is a bonus.  I'm also doing 50 squats on TRX bands with my strength training.  I hope to work up to 100 squats a few times per week.  I have to be careful of my shoulders and neck, which are prone to injury with certain movements.  The faux-stroke I had in college has left me with a weaker left side, so it is better for me to use machines than free weights.  

Some other things I am doing right now:

While I was away, I discovered that I can tolerate very small amounts of lettuce and tomato (read: one slice of each on a sandwich at lunch time), so my lunches just got very predictable and easy.  I've been making a ham and cheese sandwich most days, which comes to about 320-350 calories, depending on the bread and condiments.  I generally need something around 3 p.m., so I've been having a cup of cottage cheese with peach juice (I can't tolerate peaches very well right now, so I just drain off the juice from the can and use that--the snack comes to just under 200 calories, and is high protein, which is perfect)

I have three cereals that seem to sit very well in the morning, so am rotating between them (Rice Chex, Life, and Cripix), for about 400 calories in the morning.  

I also remembered that Carnation Instant Breakfast is highly recommended for gastroparesis diets, so I bought a few boxes to keep on hand for times when my stomach is really hurting but I need calories.  The Naked Protein Double Berry shakes I was drinking are a complete calorie bomb, expensive, and are difficult to obtain regularly, so I decided to stop buying them and use the Carnation as needed instead.  (The packets have the added advantage of not using up valuable fridge space).  

Dinners are still kind of a toss up, but since breakfast and lunch are very predictable and easy right now, I'm not too concerned about it.  I'm just trying to have one serving of the main dish, and try to eat a very small portion of carrots with it.  I've been keeping good bars of chocolate in the fridge, and eat a 200 calorie portion in the evening after the kids go to bed.  I also rediscovered old fashioned ice cream bars (the kind with the cookie bar on either side of the ice cream) and bought a few boxes, since they run between 130-150 calories for a bar, and feel like a reasonable dessert.

I've totally gone off fizzy drinks, even seltzer, because it makes my belly bloat so bad and I feel awful after drinking them.  Instead, I have been making crystal light lemonade and drinking Sobe Lifewater in Yumberry Pomegranate since I have a hard time drinking straight water unless I'm seriously dehydrated.  I'm not a particularly thirsty person, so it has been hard to keep up my liquid intake.  I do have an iced coffee in the morning, with some whole milk or half and half, but the calorie load is pretty low (40-50 calories) that I figure the caffeine is worth it.

My base calorie goal is 1600 per day, plus whatever I burn with exercise, and I'm doing pretty well staying within the targets.  I've had a day or two that I ran over by a little bit, but nothing crazy.  I think it is okay to run over a few times a week.  

Here's to the next 6 pounds!