Vic's Lifestyle/Diet Reset Log

UserVic
UserVic Posts: 10 Member
edited December 4 in Motivation and Support
Hi All,

I plan to document my attempt at reshaping my diet here. The short of it is that I’m not happy with the lifestyle and diet choices that I’ve built up as normal and feel like I need a reset. The short term goal is weight loss but my hope is that with a lot of work I’ll be able to reset some of the nasty habits I’ve developed over the last few years.

The path I intend to follow…

Eat as much as I want of: Fruits, Veggies, Legumes, Whole Unprocessed nuts (not butters), Seeds, Home-brewed Tea (no sweeteners/milk),
Eat limited amounts of: Beef, and Chicken
Very limited amounts of: Dairy (no milkshakes or anything silly like that), Grains (like barley in homemade soup not a loaf of wonder bread with jiffy)


I could probably spend days trying to list everything out but I think from the above you get the point. I wont be counting calories but I plan to report everything I eat and let ya’ll know how it goes.


Day 0:
Weight: 189.0
Yesterday I had homemade black bean soup for lunch and homemade tikka panner with rice and naan for dinner. I ate 4 safeway ice-cream sandwiches, a sizable amount of hot cheezits and a had an awesome bubble tea from my favorite boba place near by. Now that I’ve finished off that 16 pack of ice-cream sandwiches in just a few days I can begin my diet right?

Day1: 10-12-2016
Weight: still 189
For lunch I’ve had just about two bowls of that homemade black bean soup. I’ve been making variations of this cookie and kate recipe and really enjoy it:
http://cookieandkate.com/2016/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/
I feel nice and full and am about to get on with my day. No plans for dinner yet. I still have some of the homemade tikka panner leftover so maybe I’ll have that. Right now I’m most worried about late night cravings. That’s when the rationalizations to eat bad foods get out of control.

Replies

  • alias1602
    alias1602 Posts: 10 Member
    Try having a carb and protein heavy breakfast in the morning to curb the late night cravings. It fixed the problem for me. It took a few weeks to notice the difference but I never feel hungry at night now :)
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    alias1602 wrote: »
    Try having a carb and protein heavy breakfast in the morning to curb the late night cravings. It fixed the problem for me. It took a few weeks to notice the difference but I never feel hungry at night now :)

    Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my main weakness is processed carbs so I have to be careful about the baked goods and such.

    Anyhow, here's the final score for Day 1:

    Day1: 10-12-2016 (complete)
    Weight: still 189
    For lunch I’ve had just about two bowls of that homemade black bean soup. I’ve been making variations of this cookie and kate recipe and really enjoy it:
    http://cookieandkate.com/2016/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/
    I feel nice and full and am about to get on with my day. No plans for dinner yet. I still have some of the homemade tikka panner leftover so maybe I’ll have that. Right now I’m most worried about late night cravings. That’s when the rationalizations to eat bad foods get out of control.

    For dinner I ended up having the leftover homemade tikka panner. I passed on the naan but did have a bit of rice for it. Just before writing this post I was feeling really hungry and decided to have a banana with some peanut butter. I thought that maybe I'd have two but by the time I finished it I was feeling much happier. Now I'm sipping some decaf earl grey and am getting ready for bed.

    Mood is pretty good. Hunger level is minimal but at the same time I feel like I could go out and eat a whole pizza and drink a boba. I'm curious to discover what the breaking pattern is like. I quit smoking about 3 years ago and am wondering how similar this will be to that.

    I'm looking forward to reporting how tomorrow goes. Wish me luck :smile:

    -Vic
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    eating unlimited nuts would mean i was NEVER in a deficit, they're far too calorie dense for that!!!
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    eating unlimited nuts would mean i was NEVER in a deficit, they're far too calorie dense for that!!!

    Very true! For me nuts are not high on my craving/want list so unless I get all crazy and start making them a core component of meals I'm not super worried about them. Unlimited is a loaded word for sure. My unlimited for nuts, I think, might be limited to very limited by some people's standard.

    Time will tell though and I'm enjoying the feedback. Thank you for chiming in.

    -Vic
  • janekana
    janekana Posts: 151 Member
    Maybe try to sleep earlier or push dinner an hour back so you don't feel as hungry later at night? Might help since you're asleep or a bit fuller than usual.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    to lose weight its about how much you eat not what you eat. so even if you are going over your maintenance calories in fruit and veggies you can still gain weight.
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    to lose weight its about how much you eat not what you eat. so even if you are going over your maintenance calories in fruit and veggies you can still gain weight.

    When I can sit down and eat 3000 calories of fruits and veggies like I do with digiorno then we'll have tackle that issue. As for right now I'm not concerned about going over with the current plan but I'll keep an eye on it.
    janekana wrote: »
    Maybe try to sleep earlier or push dinner an hour back so you don't feel as hungry later at night? Might help since you're asleep or a bit fuller than usual.

    That's a good thought for sure. I'd love to get my sleep schedule more even too.
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    Hi All :smiley:

    Day 2: 10-13-2016
    Weight: Scale readings were weird so I’m going to try again tomorrow morning and use that as my new starting point.

    So... here’s how today shook out. I slept later than intended and ended up eating lunch late at about 12:30. I was pretty hungry at that point but knew what would do the trick. Apple, Banana, Peanut Butter and Tea. I was surprised by the pushback on my plan so I logged all of my food today to see where I was at.

    Here’s how it went…

    Lunch:
    1 Apple, 1 Banana, 3 tablespoons of PB and 1 big cup of Jasmine Green Tea
    Approx 470 cal
    43gi7ei8769c.jpg


    Dinner:
    172g of Snap Peas, 56g of Muenster, 168g of 80/20 Ground Beef, and 1 big cup of Jasmine Green Tea
    5qv8efte3p3n.jpg


    At the end of dinner I was still really hungry. It was at this point I decided to total up what I had eaten so far and see how much I had remaining. I was thrilled when I found out I had a huge amount of calories left and decided to continue my feast

    Dinner Take 2:
    60g(ish) of snap peas, 28g of Muenster (56 was way more than I needed to enjoy the cheese the first time), 168g of beef and a re-steep of my tea leaves.
    9plke24hrk4q.jpg

    Total Dinner (take 1 plus take 2) calories: 1240
    Total Cal for the day: 1710ish

    If I'm feeling super hungry in the next hour or two I'll probably eat another banana or an apple or some snap peas.
    right now I'm feeling reasonably good. If I end up eating another 200-250 calories that seems fine to me.

    I wish I had planned a little snack to start the day and one between lunch and dinner. That gap was uncomfortable.

    Anyhow, let me know what yall think. I think today went pretty well.
    It's worth mentioning that I plan on eating without restriction this coming saturday as I am attending the nor cal Renn Faire and must consume meat pies and mead. Now that I've said that in advance you'll know that I'm not making up new rules for myself.

    tomorrow I'm home all day so I have time to get creative with my food. I have more burgers and cheese but would be super happy with myself if I was able to get another meal made up so I don't have to do the starving panic when I wait till the last possible second to eat.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    It's fantastic you are putting healthy habits in place and eating real food!

    For now it's great you're just focused on eating better, but take it from someone who has practiced clean eating for many years, you will need to eventually track calories AND macros (protein, carbs, fats).

    I managed to become overweight eating clean healthy foods, and I managed to spend almost a year trying to lose weight with increased exercise with minimal results...

    Until I started tracking my intake on myfitnesspal using the diary I had no idea that most days I was eating at maintenance calories and that several days a week I was going way over and occasionally way under. I also learned I was eating WAY too many carbs, a bit too much fat, and WAY too little protein- like not even half the medically recommended amount for a sedentary woman, and I was quite active so I was only getting h like a quarter or less of what an active woman like me should get.

    And this was eating whole healthy foods, fruits & veggies mostly, lean meats, healthy carbs like brown rice & sweet potato, mostly organic nothing processed... basically the exact diet you plan to eat.

    I don't say this to scare you or deter you- eating healthy clean foods is the best!! But I don't want you to be like me and wonder a year from now why you haven't lost weight despite eating "healthy", why your muscle tone isn't what it should be, why your hair & skin doesn't look so great...

    By all means switch to healthy foods and healthy habits first and worry about tracking later, but do eventually start tracking so you get a better idea of proper portion sizes & what proportions of different types of foods are best.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Another thing I've found helpful isn't to worry about how many days you've been doing this- day 1, day 5, etc. If this is how you are going to eat the rest of your life- it will get a bit tedious to track it this way by day 50 or day 500 or 2000... if you are doing it for a solid 30 days or something until it becomes a habit and logging this way helps you stay on track for that time period then definitely do that- but beware of the day 1, day 5, day 10 mentality if you don't have an end date in mind and a plan for what happens after that day comes.
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    Hi All :smile:

    Today was another good day.

    Here’s how it all shook out…

    Day 3: 10-14-2016
    Weight: 184.6 ...... so this is a big jump down from my starting weight of 189 and is actually the reason I didn't report yesterday. for the past few months my weight has been between 184 and 190 so I feel like this is a reasonable result but doesn't really indicate a trend yet. Time will tell won't it?

    Lunch:
    Cheeseburger, snap peas, and green jasmine tea
    Approx 581cal
    okasfxlsbo1g.jpg




    Dinner:
    Homemade chicken and barley soup, bread and cheese, water and tea.
    Approx 1079cal
    tqiztf8tyjri.jpg
    oztxlhjx5uly.jpg

    I must admit I'm still surprised by the amount of warning and negativity my chosen path has generated. You'd think I told everyone I was going to switch to a fastfood diet.
    Anyhow, I've ended the day with calories to spare. Right now I feel very full and had few issues with hunger throughout the day. Mood is good.
    Tomorrow is my day at the ren faire so it'll be meat pies and mead. might do 3000cal tomorrow. who knows...

    Let me know what ya'll think.

    Best,
    -Vic
  • janekana
    janekana Posts: 151 Member
    The reason why I do weekly weigh-ins (or really just whenever I remember to do so) is because weight fluctuates constantly depending on the time of day, and it would be impossible to shed 1 lbs a day, so I personally don't trust daily weigh-ins because I'm just giving myself false hope when it's actually just water weight.

    Which it might be in your case, I find it shocking to see someone lose 5 lbs in 3-4 days! However, it is good to see your water weight flush put though, and your food choices are really healthy. You're doing great, keep at it! :)
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    janekana wrote: »
    The reason why I do weekly weigh-ins (or really just whenever I remember to do so) is because weight fluctuates constantly depending on the time of day, and it would be impossible to shed 1 lbs a day, so I personally don't trust daily weigh-ins because I'm just giving myself false hope when it's actually just water weight.

    Which it might be in your case, I find it shocking to see someone lose 5 lbs in 3-4 days! However, it is good to see your water weight flush put though, and your food choices are really healthy. You're doing great, keep at it! :)

    Helps to only weigh yourself first thing in the morning.
  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    courtneyfabulous wrote: »

    Helps to only weigh yourself first thing in the morning.

    Very true Courtney :smile:
    janekana wrote: »
    The reason why I do weekly weigh-ins (or really just whenever I remember to do so) is because weight fluctuates constantly depending on the time of day, and it would be impossible to shed 1 lbs a day, so I personally don't trust daily weigh-ins because I'm just giving myself false hope when it's actually just water weight.

    Which it might be in your case, I find it shocking to see someone lose 5 lbs in 3-4 days! However, it is good to see your water weight flush put though, and your food choices are really healthy. You're doing great, keep at it! :)

    In my case I like to do dailies because there's some fancy math that can be done to create a 10 day moving average but the the truth is a weekly weigh with the trend line like MFP provides produces the same result.

    I don't know if there are other people out there that do daily weighs but I find the range of the fluctuations to be very interesting. I think my 189 weigh was on the high side and the 184.6 was on the low side and has not actually been lost. We'll see what happens over the next couple weeks. hopefully with minimal tracking and good choices I can shed a bit of weight :smile:

    Thank you Jane and Courtney for stopping by :smiley:


    So… today went reasonably well.

    I had a bunch of crap hi-cal food but not as much as I’ve had in previous years.


    Day 4: 10-16-2016

    Lunch:
    Final damage was… a lamb gyro, a cottage meat pie, a Root Beer float, a cup of mead and a gatoraid



    Dinner:
    1 bowl of homemade chicken barley soup, a bit of bread and cheese



    dessert:
    so I stumbled here, gave in and ate 2 mini cupcakes that my partner brought home from work. She works for a big tech company and they get fancy cupcakes. Anyhow, my justification was that today was a day marked as a special event so the treats aren't too bad.


    I’m looking forward to tomorrow.





  • UserVic
    UserVic Posts: 10 Member
    Hi All :smile:

    Day 5: 10-16-2016 (for real this time)
    went reasonably well. Had more homemade soup, pretzels and pb, and some turkey jerky and string cheese.
    I feel like I ate a bit more than I should have. I was feeling down and ended up eating to distract myself. That being said I don't think the damage was too huge.

    Day 6: 10-17-2016
    Weight: 185.6 (this seems like a real change from the 188-189 range that I was in and although still within the margin of error I'm going to call it a win)

    I messed up my timing and am just now eating my first meal of the day at about 4pm.
    I bought some spice mix from the grocery store and for the first time made burger patties on my own. The first one tasted great and the 2nd one is on the foreman as I type. I use 80/20 and grill the @#$%$#@ out of it. I also had a string cheese with the first one and plan to have one with the next.

    For the dinner I'm cooking tonight it's cauliflower "mac n cheese." I intend to smother it with onions, anaheim peppers and beans.

    I'll take some pictures of it for yall to see. Hopefully it turns out great :smiley:
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