Final Tally: Not Bad. Not Good Enough, But Not Bad!

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 31st, 2008

Two months ago when we started this journey I said my goal was to drop 15 pounds.

This afternoon when I finished working out and hopped on the scale, three great numbers popped up.

182.

Since I started at 197, that means I actually pulled it off. ;) 15 pounds lost in two months. Overall, I’m pretty happy. Especially considering I spent 10 days of the contest on vacation in Europe, 5 days in NYC for SES and a full two weeks sick enough I couldn’t work out.

Granted, it wasn’t anywhere close to enough to keep up with Scottie. This is why the phrase “Never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line” keeps getting replayed as “Never go in against Atkins when rapid weight loss is on the line.”

Really though, I’m thrilled for Scottie! She’s done amazing, as has most everyone in the contest. Collectively, we lost 101 pounds. That’s not bad. Not bad at all!

I know the contest has been life changing for me. I’d been looking for that kick in the butt to get me started for about a year and this was what it took. After four years spent pregnant or nursing, I know I’m done with the baby thing. That means it’s time to get myself in shape so I can spend time really enjoying my kids. At 197, I just didn’t have the energy to do as much with them as I would have liked. The two months of this contest have resulted in a complete reeducation for me about food and have locked in my love of exercise.

My goal is to drop another 15 pounds by SES San Jose in August. That’s 4 months to get myself down to 167. That would put me thinner than I’ve been since I was a junior in high school. It would also pretty much put me at my goal weight.

With that in mind, I’ll be keeping my blog going here. I won’t be posting daily meal tallies or photos anymore, but I will be making weekly posts with progress, exercise updates and the like. If you’d like to stick around, that’d be cool. Always good to have company. ;)

Personal thanks also go out to all the sponsors who came on board. Google was kind enough to join us as a site wide sponsor, which rocked. I’d like to say a big “you rock” thanks to Search Engine Strategies, Freshbooks, Search Engine Guide, and Planet Chiropractic for coming on as site sponsors for my area of the blog.

Finally, special thanks to Michael, Karen and Judy. I know you all read this blog on a regular basis. Thanks for sticking by me, thanks for your encouragement. You guys rock.

3 Comments » | Topics: Thoughts

Where Have I Been?

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 28th, 2008

Well, I vanished two weeks ago to head to SES NY, knowing I wouldn’t be able to post much while I was there.

Unfortunately, I got sick while there and came home with a case of Bronchitis so bad I’m STILL down sick a full week later. That means I haven’t been able to make it to the gym for two full weeks. It also means that while I’m tracking my food and taking pictures, I haven’t had time to post them here.

I stayed pretty darn on track in NY. As with the Italy trip, I mostly ate what I wanted, when I wanted it…but it’s interesting to see how my “wants” have changed. Overall, I want healthy food. I’ve gotten used to it. Empty calorie “crap” just doesn’t sound good anymore. I’ve also seen a great drop in the quantity of food I want to eat and in my ability to say “ok, I’m done.”

I can’t remember the last time I ate until I felt full. Instead, there seems to be this little internal alarm that says “ok, that’s enough.”

In fact, the last three days I’ve ended up tackling some chocolate or even fresh based chocolate chip cookies. Two months ago, I would have avoided them like the plague, because I wouldn’t have trusted myself to stop.

On Tuesday, Rachel and I made a half batch of chocolate chip cookies and settled in with some Buffy. It had been a rough day. (Twitter followers know I was eyeing a one pound bunny…)  I’d seen the tallies and knew Scottie was now far enough in front of me that I couldn’t catch up. I wasn’t giving up on weight loss, but I did figure I’d have my first “splurge” of the contest.

I ended up eating just six cookies. (and these are the mini variety that are about the size of a half dollar.)

I think I’m cured. ;)

With all that said, I’ll be uploading my pics to YouTube, but I won’t be going back and posting them here. With our conference coming up, I just don’t have time.

I’m down another pound though. Sitting at 183 right now. That’s 14 pounds down. We’ve got three days to go and I plan on working out over the weekend. I’m really hoping to hit my 15 pound goal by Monday. If I do, I’ll be the thinnest I’ve ever been since I’ve known my husband.

I may not have one the contest, but that’s still a pretty good accomplishment.

I’ve dropped a full jean size and am only a couple pounds away from dropping another one. In fact, I had to have my mom take all my jeans in about two inches before I headed to SES NY. (And thank you to all of you who made me feel so awesome while there, your kind words were appreciated.)

I’ll be back over the weekend with some final thoughts. Here’s hoping for just one more pound by Monday. ;)

No Comments » | Topics: Thoughts

Meals for the Day - 03/15/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 15th, 2008

03/14/08 - Breakfast

Still trying to get my immune system nice and boosted, so it was the last of the Naked Juice for breakfast this morning.

Breakfast: 300 calories, 4 grams fat, 62 grams carbs, 6 grams fiber, 4 grams protein

03/14/08 - Snack

A Zone bar and an apple.

Snack: 290 calories, 7 grams fat, 45 grams carbs, 8 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

03/14/08 - Lunch

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain oatmeal bread with a glass of milk. I actually ended up eating half a cup of pineapple too, though that didn’t make it into the picture.

Lunch: 560 calories, 17 grams fat, 83 grams carbs, 7 grams fiber, 27 grams protein

03/14/08 - Snack

Had a great workout today, so was absolutely starving. Coupled with the whole “gotta eat more calories thing” that meant I needed to fit another meal in. So, a big yummy salad it was. Greens, veggies, chicken and some cheese. Of course Emmitt ate nearly all of my chicken. (Apparently it tasted better than his dinner, which he mostly ignored.)

Snack: 348 calories, 17.5 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 10.5 grams fiber, 28.5 grams protein

03/14/08 - Dinner

Leftovers. Mashed potatoes, roast pork, carrots and sauerkraut. Mmmm…sauerkraut. :)

Dinner: 459 calories, 15 grams fat, 51 grams carbs, 9 grams fiber, 32 grams protein

03/14/08 - Dinner

Dinner tonight was some roast pork, sauer kraut, mashed potatoes and steamed baby carrots. Gotta love sauer kraut. Half a cup has 27 calories and 4 grams of fiber. :)

Dinner: 486 calories, 15 grams fat, 58 grams carbs, 13 grams fiber, 32 grams protein

Daily Total: 1957 calories, 60.5 grams fat, 279 grams carbs, 40.5 grams fiber, 104.5 grams protein

Gotta say, this whole “more calories” thing is weird. On one hand, it’s a lot more freeing to be able to eat more calories, on the other hand, I often find myself adding food I might not have cared if I eat. I realize I’d cut my diet so severely that my metabolism had slowed down and I simply wasn’t hungry any more. The more I read, the more I’m finding that I absolutely have to increase my calorie intake considering how much and how hard I’m working out. So, I guess I’ll be relearning to eat all over yet again.

Exercise: Great workout session today. Robert sent me my birthday present early (probably as much to try and help me win as to just be nice) and I got to use it at the gym. It’s a Polar F11 Heart Rate monitor. Super awesome workout tool, one that’s customized to you and lets you know exactly how many calories you’re burning. Since I could only estimate on things like weight training, it was really awesome to see actual numbers. As it turns out, I was severely underestimating how many calories I was burning while lifting.

Since I’d been sick, I thought I was taking it easy. 15 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes of light weights and then 30 minutes on the treadmill. Total calories burned: 600. (Woot! I’d been estimating about 50 on weights and it was really 150, which gives me a huge boost from the 500 I would have regularly reported.)

Net Calories: 1957 calories - 600 calories = 1357 calories</strong.

No Comments » | Topics: Meals

Weigh in - A Day Late and a Pound Short…

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 15th, 2008

Well drat. I was sick all week, so didn’t get to work out as much as I would have liked. That left me down only half a pound…not enough to see a move on the front page listings.

Here’s hoping SES NY includes enough walking and skipped meals to let me throw up a big number next week.

1 Comment » | Topics: Thoughts

Meals for the Day 03/13/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 13th, 2008

03/13/08 - Breakfast

Still trying to get my immune system nice and boosted, so it was an Odwalla Vitamin C Power Smoothie for breakfast this morning.

Lunch: 300 calories, 0 grams fat, 72 grams carbs, 0 grams fiber, 4 grams protein

03/13/08 - Snack

Another Zone bar.

Snack: 210 calories, 6 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 1 grams fiber, 16 grams protein

03/13/08 - Lunch

A small salad. Baby spinach, some tomatoes, onions, pickles, chicken breast and cheese. Topped off with some balsamic vinegar. (Which makes a surprisingly good dressing, has no fat and it incredibly low cal.)

Lunch: 288 calories, 7 grams fat, 37 grams carbs, 9.5 grams fiber, 27.5 grams protein

03/13/08 - Snack

A Braeburn apple.

Snack: 80 calories, 0 grams fat, 22 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, 0 grams protein

03/13/08 - Snack

Starving today. I guess that means I’m starting to get a little better. A bowl of Crispex with skim milk.

Snack: 185 calories, 0 grams fat, 34 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 8 grams protein

03/13/08 - Dinner

Dinner tonight was some roast pork, sauer kraut, mashed potatoes and steamed baby carrots. Gotta love sauer kraut. Half a cup has 27 calories and 4 grams of fiber. :)

Dinner: 486 calories, 15 grams fat, 58 grams carbs, 13 grams fiber, 32 grams protein

Daily Total: 1549 calories, 29 grams fat, 246 grams carbs, 31.5 grams fiber, 85.5 grams protein

Exercise: No exercise today. It’s Thursday (And the kids are still sick, as am I.)

No Comments » | Topics: Meals

Meals for the Day - 03/12/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 13th, 2008

03/12/08 - Breakfast

Another Zone bar.

Breakfast: 210 calories, 6 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

03/12/08 - Lunch

I’m sick. Totally sick. Dead to the world sick. Oh yay.

Thankfully, Rachel is the nicest, sweetest person in the entire world and came up to watch the kids so I could sleep. (I need to be well by SES NY so I can get through the week.) She also brought me Naked Juice and Vitamins so I could overdose on Vitamin C. So it was that and toast and then off to bed.

Lunch: 450 calories, 2 grams fat, 101, 10 grams fiber, 14 grams protein

03/12/08 - Snack

A banana.

Snack: 90 calories, 0 grams fat, 23 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 1 grams protein

03/12/08 - Dinner

This meal came about in an interesting way. I was upstairs asleep and Rachel was looking for something she could make for us in case I still wasn’t feeling better. She threw some chicken tenders, carrots and green onions into the crock pot with some chicken broth and some herbs. It cooked all afternoon. By the time I got up, I felt a bit better, so I started rummaging around the kitchen.

We made some egg noodles, she pulled out the chicken and dice it up, and I turned added a rue to the broth to thicken it up. We threw it all back in and made chicken and noodles. Then I caramlized an onion and we put that on top. It was absolutely fantastic! :) Yum! More naked juice and vitamins too.

Dinner: 650 calories, 3 grams fat, 150 grams carbs, 6 grams fiber, 25 grams protein

Daily Total: 1400 calories, 12 grams fat, 297 grams carbs, 19 grams fiber, 56 grams fat

Exercise: No exercise today. Still sick.

No Comments » | Topics: Meals

Meals for the Day - 03/11/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 13th, 2008

03/1/08 - Breakfast

Another Zone bar.

Breakfast: 210 calories, 6 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 1 grams fiber, 16 grams protein

03/11/08 - Lunch

Back at Panera and back to my usual Tuesday lunch of French Onion Soup, Cafe Salad and a whole grain baguette. Thanks to the new “let’s increase calories” trend, I’ve gone back to letting them toss those croutons and cheese on top. Mmmm…

Lunch: 450 calories, 16 grams fat, 50 grams carbs, 7 grams fiber, 16 grams protein

03/11/08 - Snack

A small Babybel cheese (I love these things) a serving of organic wheat thin style crackers and some fresh strawberries.

Snack: 255 calories, 10 grams fat, 33 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 9 grams protein

03/11/08 - Dinner

I’ve got to say, I’m impressed with what they do with turkey these days. I was never a fan of the whole ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey steak (ok, I made that one up) revolution. But…I’m finding the stuff is pretty tasty. I replaced ground beef with ground turkey about a year ago, but this was the first time I bought turkey sausage patties.

They were fantasic! So, breakfast for dinner. :) Turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, a slice of toast, some fresh pineapple, half an apple and a few strawberries that were prompted stolen and swallowed by Nora. (So I didn’t count them in my tally.)

Dinner: 586 calories, 29 grams fat, 53 grams carbs, 6 grams fiber, 36 grams protein

Daily Total: 1506 calories, 61 grams fat, 161 grams carbs, 18 grams fiber, 77 grams protein

Exercise: No exercise today. It’s Tuesday. (And I’m sick of shoveling snow.)

No Comments » | Topics: Meals

Meals for the Day - 03/10/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 10th, 2008

03/10/08 - Breakfast

A Zone bar and a small glass of skim milk.

Breakfast: 300 calories, 7 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 22 grams protein

03/10/08 - Lunch

Yay for Nathania! Thanks to her list of fast food meals under 500 calories last month, I was reminded I could actually eat some food from McDonald’s. That worked out well as I was driving through part of town with no Wendy’s. :) So, I ordered myself up a grilled chipotle snack wrap and a fruit and yogurt parfait to go with the apple I’d tossed in my bag. Unfortunately, they accidentally gave me fries instead of the parfait. When I pointed out the error, they gave me the parfait and insisted I keep the fries. (I swear I heard Scottie giggling from around the corner…)

I managed to throw them away, but only after eating about 10 fries. :( Otherwise, this meal would be down about 50 calories and some fat as well.

Lunch: 610 calories, 17 grams fat, 96 grams carbs, 8.5 grams fiber, 18.5 grams protein

03/10/08 - Snack

I like this new “more calories” thing. I can eat my Kashi cookies again.

Snack: 130 calories, 5 grams fat, 21 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 2 grams protein

03/10/08 - Dinner

Imagine my surprise when I put together a pretty yummy salad, added things up and saw it only totaled 283 calories! That certainly wasn’t going to do, so I made myself a peanut butter and jelly to go with it. I’m loving this whole grain honey oatmeal bread. It’s just the right level of chewy and it’s got just enough sweet in it.

Dinner: 713 calories, 24 grams fat, 88 grams carbs, 16.5 grams fiber, 50 grams protein

03/10/08 - Dessert

Added it all up and I was still too low for the day. So, out came the last Kashi cookie and a glass of milk. Yum!

Dessert: 220 calories, 5 grams fat, 33 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 10 grams protein

Daily Total: 1673 calories, 51 grams fat, 239 grams carbs, 31 grams fiber, 80.5 grams protein

Exercise: Normally, Monday is a gym day. Unfortunately, Emmitt has snagged himself yet another ear infection so I spent the morning driving to the city to take him to the doctor and then hanging around the grocery store waiting for his prescription. That meant I had to hightail it outside when Greg came home so I could shovel some more snow before dark. Thankfully our neighbors are old and don’t get out to shovel their sidewalks, so I continued to work my way up the street. I shoveled the sidewalks in front of the two houses to our left, totaling another 50 yards or so of sidewalk. Took me 40 minutes. Calories burned: 350

Net Total: 1673 calories - 350 calories = 1323 calories

2 Comments » | Topics: Meals

Meals for the Day - 03/09/08

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 9th, 2008

03/09/08 - Breakfast

Another Zone bar, this time paired with a small glass of skim milk. You know, that whole “let’s increase the calories” idea I’ve got going on. :)

Breakfast: 300 calories, 7 grams fat, 38 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 22 grams protein

03/09/08 - Snack

Mmmm…banana. I’d been skipping bananas in favor of pineapple for a few weeks because bananas are so much higher in calories. That said, the potassium is super great for you. Plus, I just flat out like bananas. So when the Elnora decided she didn’t want to eat the banana I’d just peeled for her, I figured it was a good morning snack for me.

Snack: 105 calories, 0 grams fat, 27 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram protein

03/09/08 - Lunch

A super yummy salad for lunch. Skipped the apple this time and popped a bit of leftover pineapple in here. Also had some leftover chicken breast from the other night, so I chopped up half a cup of that and threw it on top.

Snack: 337 calories, 7 grams fat, 51 grams carbs, 12 grams fiber, 27 grams protein

03/09/08 - Snack

After my massive snow shoveling workout (see below) I was famished. My salad at lunch had been on the light side and dinner was still a ways away, so I had a PB&J on whole grain oatmeal bread and another small glass of milk.

Dinner: 520 calories, 17 grams fat, 70 grams carbs, 6 grams fiber, 27 grams protein

03/09/08 - Dinner

It’s funny that on the day I decided to increase my calorie intake, my lunch and dinner ended up being really low calorie. On the plus side, that meant I got to eat lost of snacks and drink some of my beloved milk. Dinner tonight was scalloped potatoes, green beans and some turkey smoked sausage. It was the first time I’d bought the turkey smoked sausage and I was pretty amazed at how yummy it was.

Dinner: 385 calories, 15.5 grams fat, 35 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 20 grams protein

03/09/08 - Dessert

Yum! Dessert! Three mini blueberry muffins from the batch I made for Greg and the kids. No butter, but they were sweet enough they didn’t need them. (And no oil in the recipe, yay!)

Dessert: 150 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 25 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 2 grams protein

Daily Total: 1797 calories, 51 grams fat, 246 grams carbs, 29 grams fiber, 99 grams protein

Exercise: Once again, I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the gym. On the other hand, I remembered how many calories I could burn while shoveling snow after my little “dig out” incident yesterday. While Greg had plowed the driveway, he hadn’t done the sidewalks, nor had he dug his truck out yet. So, I dug out his truck, shoveled more than 50 yards of sidewalk and cleared a path to the mailbox for the mail truck. Since we had 18″ of wet snow, it took me a good 80 minutes of solid work. Something tells me my shoulders will hate me tomorrow. Calories burned: 768

Net Total: 1797 calories - 768 calories = 1029 calories

3 Comments » | Topics: Meals

Well this is new…

JenniferLaycock Submitted on March 8th, 2008

So I’ve been doing some reading and thinking and talking to folks who know a little something about nutrition.

It appears I need to actively work on INCREASING my calorie intake.

I’ve noticed in the last week I’ve been REALLY tired. I mean like REALLY tired. I got to thinking and started wondering if I was actually ending up too low on the calorie count each day. In other words, I wasn’t giving my body enough energy to get the job done.

Then I thought about what I ate in Italy. I’d estimate I averaged 2400-2600 calories a day on that trip. Granted, I was walking 10 miles a day, so I was really active, but I lost three pounds that week and I felt fantastic.

I also noticed it’s taking less and less food for me to not be hungry. As I write this, I’ve eaten 1121 calories today and burned off 430. That puts me at less than 700 calories for the day. There is simply no way my body can run off of that. Mathamatically is should mean weight loss, but health wise, I just don’t think it’s going to cut it.

So I’m getting a little worried I might be pushing my body into starvation mode. That would explain the slowing of weight loss, the lack of energy and the lack of appetite.

I’ve used quite a few calorie calculators to get an idea of what I should be eating if I want to lose weight. None of them come in lower than 1600 or 1800 calories. That seems so high to me, but I also know now I was probably eating 3000-3500 calories a day before I started tracking things.

So, as much as it makes me paranoid that Scottie will rocket past me this week, I’m going to aim to increase my calorie intake.

I’d been aiming for around 1000 net calories a day. My new goal is 1200-1400 net calories a day. That means 1200-1400 calories on the days I don’t work out and 1600-1800 calories on the days I do work out.

We’ll see what happen.

7 Comments » | Topics: Thoughts
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