Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Day 76 - a little frustrated

UPDATE:
I didn't post last night because I didn't finish eating, no better yet grazing, until 9pm. Maybe I can chalk it up to the no-coffee headache. Perhaps it's that time of the month. Whatever the "excuse" I overate massively today. I probably can rest this one on my frustration described below. But in the effort of maintaining utter and complete honesty in this blog I decided I must post everything I've eaten. No hidden snacks. I laid in bed bloated and disgusted. It's Thursday now. I have a new day before me. The slate is clean. I start anew.


I've maintained this 10 pound weight loss for almost a month. It has gone up. It hasn't gone down. And it's the latter that's frustrating me. Women's weight loss is a tricky thing to measure. Our hormones and cycles mess with that number. So I must realize that when weighing myself twice a week. But sometimes that 10 pounds is only 8 and a couple times it went to 11!

But it isn't going down - anymore. Have I plateu-ed? I've switched from 1200 calories to 1500 and sometimes 1700 (and once or twice 2000). I know that to keep my metabolism up I need to eat around 1700-2200 calories. If I go over that I start gaining. But if I stay there will I maintain and not lose? So should I go back down to 1200 to see if I'll lose or will my metabolism get whacked and go into starvation mode and maintain or worse - gain? Questions - please provide answers! Anyone?!

Breakfast
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. blueberries
1 t brown sugar

Snack
1 90 cal. granola bar
1 oz almonds
2 boiled eggs

Lunch
1.5 c salad with light italian dressing
2 boiled eggs

Snack
2 pieces toast with butter

Dinner
1 serving penne pasta with shrimp
2 c salad with light italian dressing

Snack
2 pieces toast
1 oz dark chocolate
8 oz non fat yogurt
1 T sour cream
1T honey

2 comments:

  1. Metabolism is a tricky thing for sure. Your calorie needs are determined by many factors including your activity level. I have found that to keep losing weight I do best to vary within my range. I am not very active, with short resistance training workouts 5 days a week and moderate cardio 3 days a week. My range for weight loss is 1200-1550. Most days I stay in the 1200-1300 range, but twice a week I aim for 1450-1550.

    I got my range from sparkpeople.com which takes my exercising into consideration. Even so each person is different.

    Are you sure your calories are that high though? I look at your daily intake and it seems like so much less food than I eat. I have not entered it though.. both sparkpeople.com and fitday.com have free and extensive calorie trackers both for food and exercise.

    Plateaus are normal though.... and perhaps you need to change things up. Change the foods you eat and the kinds of exercise you do.

    Hang in there and I will keep you in my prayers.

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  2. I am using sparkpeople - thanks lamb.

    I will use sparkpeople to check out what my calorie range should be. I never thought of that.

    My calorie count ranges from 1350-1800 and sometimes 2000.

    I am adding weight lifting to my exercise routine. To be honest I like the idea more than the practice and am hoping my dislike doesn't lead me to stop. It's hard but good - my muscles ache in that good way and I know it's temporary.

    Thanks for the encouragement.

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