TESTING: Week 3, Cory

I'm going to go by week instead of day, because I cannot keep track.

I am taking a bit of a break for a few days because I have a major, stressful event in store, and I'm just trying to stay even until I get past it.

I'm eating OK, nothing wild, but not paying the attention I should.

I plan to get back on track in June, with paying more attention to what I'm eating, though I am paying attention, even now, about what strategies work for me during times of stress - to, at the very least, not gain weight. 

Will be back to the more regular posting in a few days.

--Cory

TESTING: Day 7, Cory

Well, I did OK, but not as well as I would have liked.  I was doing fine until it got late and I was just sooo hungry I had a small half sandwich and a yogurt as a snack before bed.

That is something for me to note - I have to have a strategy for dealing with the "before bed" hungries that I get.  I can't sleep if I am hungry, and if I don't have a plan, I will just give in and eat whatever is on hand.  So there ya go . . . this testing is turning up the need to come up with a rule/strategy for the late night hungry time that I seem to deal with more often than not.

And, yes, I have decided to write another installment of . . .

O Cappy, My Cappy:

(verse 2)

O Cappy! my Cappy! rise up and type the posts;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the readers thrill,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the followers a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Cappy! dear blogger!
O cottage cheese and caffeine!
It is some dream that on the blog,
Her posts cannot be seen.

-- Cory

But seriously, Cappy - I hope you are well and doing as you hoped with your eating and "getting healthier" plans.

TESTING: Day 6, Cory

Well, I think my rule about exercise will be:

--Walk at least 2 miles or do at least 45 minutes on the bike during the day, minimum of 6 days a week. 

That allows me to skip a day, which I can imagine would happen now and then, when, say, it's rainy so I don't walk, and I get busy with something during the evening and can't get to my exercise bike.   I will test that out and see if I can stick to it without any major problems.

I don't want to finalize on that one yet, but that seems to be what is taking shape, here.  My approach here, for food and exercise,  is NOT going to be:  "Make some rules and stick to them," but rather, "See what you can stick to, and make it a rule."

On the food, I think I can go ahead and steal one from Alton Brown right now:

--Always eat breakfast.

Easy to do and really seems to help me get through the day.  I will call that one "final."

Still working on the rest.

Rainy day, did 45 min on the indoor bike.  Ran out of eggs so I ate three small turkey sausages with a piece of whole wheat for brk; a smallish salad and piece of cornbread (baked polenta) for lunch, and a small salad with shrimp and a piece of whole wheat for dinner.  Also had a yogurt, and plan to have a piece of fruit before bed.

Oh - I forgot I ate a biscotti and half a .  .  . fruit-bar cookie type thing.  It didn't seem like a huge indulgence, though I should be more careful about stuff like that.

Cappy!  Hope you are well, and silence does not mean anything except your are busy.  Are you still doing Raw Foods?  Something different?  Taking a bit of a break from the whole thing?

--Cory

TESTING: Day 4, Cory

Well, I did fine with my eating today.

My exercise was about 2 miles of walking and 45 minutes on the bike.

Am still working on figuring out what "my lists" and rules will be, but I feel like they are starting to take shape!

This is all so day by day.  I have yet to get on the scale, which is still sitting in my bathroom, but I know I am at that place where I'm getting close to my end-weight and loss is going to be slow.  Which is OK.  I don't think I can possibly be losing more than a pound or so a week - at the most, and probably less - at this point.  But that is OK.

It is what it is, I'll end up where I end up!

CAPPY!  Hope you are doing OK on your efforts.

--Cory

TESTING: Day 2, Cory

Well, I feel better not worrying about Low Carb anymore.  I am having some kind of whole grain at every meal, along with protein.  And at lunch and dinner, I also make sure I have some veggies and fruit.  At lunch, I have yogurt to have some dairy in the day.

The "Lists & Rules" are starting to shape up in my head . . .  I think I am going to come up with:

--What food groups I will be sure eat every day
--What I can eat anytime
--What I can eat occasionally
--What I will never eat

And then say, up to three additional rules, like "always eat breakfast," or some such thing.

Did fine today.   I had bought some eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast and am going to stick with it until I finish them up, but then I think I am going to go to oatmeal again. Lunch was a turkey sandwich with lots of veggies on pumpernickel, and yogurt.  Dinner was chicken stir fry, two pieces of whole wheat bread, and an orange.

Rainy, rainy, rainy again today, so I did my 45 minutes on the exercise bike, and very little walking. 

TESTING: Day 1, Cory

Well, I have to stop calling this "Low Carb," because I just can't stick to Low Carb.  So I am calling it "Testing" because I feel like I'm entering a phase where I am figuring out how I want to eat for the long term.

I am thinking it is going to end up being low fat and good-carbs (as in avoiding refined sugar, going for whole grains, etc).

I want to come up with Cory's Four Rules, sorta like Alton Brown did, with his Four Lists.  Only they will be my lists to eat by, not Alton's.  Though I like some of his, and will probably steal some.

So I'm going to be trying to figure that out in the next few weeks.  And then I will post my "Lists," and try to live by them, and see how it goes.  My goal is to tweak and have this tweaked to perfection by the end of the calendar year - and to follow my rules from now on.

And then, whatever weight I am, when eating light and sensibly and doing a decent amount of exercise . . . well, that is the weight I am.

Did good today with the eating, and the exercising.  Got back to using my exercise bike, since the weather continues to be too rainy to walk to work. 

--Cory

LOW CARB: Day 7, Cory

Well, I think I did fine on my eating, but I wouldn't exactly call it low carb.  Had a low carb brkfst, yes, but then at lunch I had a sandwich (turkey and veggies on pumpernickel) and yogurt, and at dinner I had a hamburger and yogurt.  Also had a few shrimp with cocktail sauce for a snack, and a piece of fruit.

So sensible, low cal eating . . . but not really low carb.  I'll keep trying to stick with low carb for the week ahead, despite this.

Got plenty of exercise in, with about 4 - 5 miles of walking, I'd say.

And today was the first day I wore a pair of jeans that were a bit too snug a month or so ago, so that's good!

I still haven't gotten on the scale.  I did move it downstairs to the bathroom. 

How goes it, Cappy?

--Cory

LOW CARB: Day 5, Cory

Well, I'm doing fine on the diet.

Am not going super low carb, just sorta watching the carbs.  I did have some sweetened strawberry yogurt, croutons on my salad, and a whole wheat English muffin, and I am not denying myself fruit in any measure.  So it's more about being a change from the total "low fat/high carb" thing I had going on with the cupboard cleanup - with rice and pasta at just about every meal, but staying away from the fat.

Today, I did fine - eggs and turkey sausage and English muffin for brk; small grilled chicken salad and yogurt for lunch; 12 little shrimp with cocktail sauce snack; largish grilled chicken salad with small amt vingarette dressing for dinner.

Not very good on the exercise.  It was rainy all day long and I barely got any walking in (maybe a half mile), and did not do the bike.  I have a hard time with this when the weather is ooky.

Hiya, CAPPY!  Thanks for the encouragement!  I miss you, too!

--Cory

Raw Food, Cappy

Today was another good day.  I had no problems staying on the diet.  I overslept this morning, so I didn't get a chance to exercise before work.  But I made up for it after work--I exercised a total of one and a half hours.  I walked for 1 hour and did my workout dvd for 30 minutes.  I'm already stiff and sore, so tomorrow should be fun. :D


Happymaker of the day:  Finishing my workout.


Cappy

Raw Food: Day Whatever and One, Cappy

Did great on the diet today.  This past weekend wasn't perfect, but I stayed on it for the majority of the weekend.  I only walked for about 45 minutes tonight--it was windy and damp and chilly outside, and my calf was hurting (I think I may have slightly pulled a muscle, but it's nothing too bad).  I plan to get up early enough to go for a walk in the morning and then walk tomorrow night after work.  It can happen!


I have plans to get back strict with the diet this week.  Today was a good start.  Go me!




CORY:  Sounds like you're doing great!  Good on you for adjusting things to keep it all from getting too boring for you.  This is how you make it a lifestyle choice and not just a temporary diet. \o/  Also, I miss you!  It feels weird not planning a trip for this year, doesn't it?  


*hugs*


Cappy

LOW CARB: Day 3, Cory

Well, I'm still enjoying the switch from the boredom of my cupboard cleanup, and hoping I don't get bored too quickly on this one.

Had a good day eating wise - light brk of two eggs with turkey sausage and half an English muffin; light lunch of grilled chicken salad with a yogurt; light dinner of grilled shrimp salad with an English muffin and an orange.

Exercise not so good at all - it was really cold (low 30s) this morning so I didn't walk to work.  Ended up walking a mile or so at lunch, and that's it.  Just didn't have the gumption for the bike.

--Cory

LOW CARB: Day 1, Cory

OK.  Today was the first day of making the switch from low fat to low carb.  Mostly, it was just a relief to make a change . . . I was getting very bored.

My only "breadlike" item today was a whole wheat English muffin.  I had two "lite" eggs and turkey sausage and a yogurt with blueberries and strawberries for brk (the lite eggs brkfst at Bob Evans), a small grilled chicken salad with apples and a handful of pecans for lunch, and the a grilled chicken salad with the English muffin for dinner.  So I certainly ate sensibly today, and the calories can't have added up to very much.

I didn't do that great on the exercise - I did a little walking - no more than .5 mile, and some cleaning upstairs that included a bit of furniture moving.

Anyhow, it felt good to move to something new.  I wonder if switching back and forth from Low Fat to Low Carb might not be the way to go for me, long term?  I won't get bored, and it might help me not end up on plateaus . . . oh well, we'll see how I feel at the end of this week!

--Cory

LOW FAT: Innumerable Days, Cory

OK!  I have finished up all the stuff!!  Tomorrow, I am going to the store and buying very simple stuff and going to try low carb for at least a week. 

Sometimes that makes me feel weak/woozy, so if it does that, I will cutting it short.  But I don't intend to be crazy strict about it, so that should help.  I'm not gonna go zero carbs or anything like that, just limiting them.  I am thinking one small serving per meal.

We'll see how it goes!  Mostly, I am happy to be done with all the rice and pasta and veggies in the freezer and all the stuff I had to eat down to get ready to move out for a week or two in a few weeks, while work is done on the house.

Whew.

Did loads of walking today for my exercise - I'd say about 5 miles.

--Cory

Raw Food: Day Whatever, Cappy

Did good again today!  


I'm eating what I started out eating on the raw foods diet, which is a bowl of oatmeal and a veggie smoothie (spinach, strawberries, and bananas) for breakfast, a big salad with onions, spring mix leaves, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, avocado, black beans or kidney beans, and salsa for a dressing, and then another veggie smoothie for supper, sometimes with some raw carrots or snap peas to much on.  I also snack on apples, bananas, and raw almonds or raw cashews throughout the day.  It really is surprisingly satisfying, but only if I stop and think to myself why I'm craving stuff if I start to think I'm hungry.  If I don't think about it, that's when my cravings start to get the best of me, if that makes any sense.


I walked for about an hour and fifteen minutes this evening, and the walk was easier than it was yesterday, so maybe it won't take too long to get back in my walking groove.


Happymaker of the day:  My good walk


Cappy

LOW FAT: Day 1 million and one, Cory

OK.  So it's not over 1 million days, but it feels like it!

I should be done with this by the end of this week.  I am so sick of rice and pasta . . . ugh.  I swear if anyone gets me pasta again for a gift, I am going to throw it on the floor, stomp it into 254,678 pieces, spit on it, and curse them until they are aflame with shame!

I live alone people.  I live alone!

Anyhow, I've learned that I'll have to move out for several weeks, probably in June to get the work done on the house.  So I've got to the end of May to get everything, including the food, as cleaned out as I can get it.

So, once I get through what is in the house (by the end of this week), I will then buy minimum stuff until moving day in June.

I am thinking "Low Carb," next.  After weeks of pasta and rice, I am ready for a change.

Did a lot of walking today . . . probably added up to about 5 miles.

CAPPY!  Good to see ya, and good to hear you are doing well.

Raw Food: Day Oneteen, Cappy

I did good today!  Was totally back on the diet, no slip-ups at all.  And I walked for 1 hour this evening.


I can do this!  I can get back on it and get back in my groove.  Whew!  Here's hoping I can keep it up.  Whoever first coined the phrase "I am my own worst enemy" sure wasn't kidding.


Happymaker of the day:  enjoying the sunset on my walk.


Cory--hope things are better for you this week!

LOW FAT: Day 13, Cory

Well, I've been doing OK, just eating kinda crazy as I continue to try to empty my cupboards.

And I'm a little down right now, from all the cleaning and such I've been doing.  It's a bit depressing.

Things will be better when I get back to my routine at work.

I've just got to hang in.  I think I've lost a little; definitely haven't gained.

Cappy, hope you are doing well!