10 Pounds in 8 Weeks or Subtract 35,000 Calories--Week 3

Light and Lusty Tomato Soup--Yesterday's Veggie Lunch. My recipe here.

OVERALL:

Week 3 of my fitness program and I'll admit it's not going as quickly (is that "as well") as I'd like--if I'm measuring success by weight loss, that is.   I've lost 1.5 pounds after finally buying a scale and also figuring out how it works.   I feel better in certain ways.  For instance, it's always nice to be taking care of yourself, isn't it?  I stretch out daily, so my body feels looser, more able.  I thought the grocery bill might go down after giving up most cooked  or restaurant lunches and quite a bit of meat, but vegetables and fruit are expensive.  As you know.  I'm struggling with mid-afternoon munchies, which is a new thing; I rarely snack.  A tablespoon of almonds or a tiny piece of low-fat cheese and a big cup of decaf green and mint teas mixed are my solution.  Perhaps 1 or two Triscuit triangles for crunch...this is not easy.

As I'm slaving over the soup book--re-writing and editing, I'm sitting at the computer way too much.  I am thinking of moving it to the kitchen counter every other hour to stand rather than sit.  I think it'd be better for me anyway, though recent research shows those office workers who are standing all day long at high desks are having serious foot (feet?) problems.  We'll see.



As a foodie, I often ponder the problems our country has with both hunger and obesity.  I think even more about our entire world and pray for the progress of all those working to alleviate hunger.   I'm struck by and often heartsick that I, along with millions of other Americans, must count every mouthful because I've been blessed by such plenty.  That there's an over-bearing, over-arching, over-whatever diet money-making machine in the United States that is such big-business that many people make a living at trying to make people like me smaller.  The irony is not lost on me.  I would like, as one dear friend once said, to "not eat more than my share."    Read about the real, desperate need for food in Syria on the World Food Programme site here.

HERE'S WHAT I'VE DONE:

Kept up with my 4x week aerobic exercise, which is some variation of or, most often, this particular Leslie Sansone 2 mile workout on youtube.  I do it in family room while watching one of the news shows to which I easily admit I'm addicted.    I add 2# weights in my hands for about half of the walk for the arm exercises.  Daily, I do a stretch routine that includes all the muscles I can find.  I often include prayer in this routine.   Twice a week, I do a regular strength-training session with the 5-6 # weights recommended by my former physical therapist who insists low weight and slow reps are the key to strength.  Not continually increasing weight as so many folks believe.  I have suffered from tendonitis repeatedly, have herniated discs in my neck, have had surgery for carpal tunnel, lots of hand therapy...  In other words,  I'm careful with hands and arms.

I have kept my food promises, but fight cravings for carbs like pizza. I have some and try not to have too much; I include salad.  My breakfasts are a cup of fresh fruit with 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and  a spoonful of my homemade, very-low fat granola and a small bit of nuts.  If not fruit and yogurt, I make a veggie omelet:

Sometimes I cook vegetables like  half an onion, a yellow squash, mushrooms, etc. (whatever I have--often spinach) and make enough vegetables for two days, storing the rest in the refrigerator.  This hastens the breakfast cooking, though a veggie omelet just takes a few minutes anyway.

My lunches may be fruit salad, green salad, or vegetable soup, which just feels better in Saint Paul during the winter. (It's snowing as I speak.  I do love it.)

 My vegan-gluten free soup is totally luscious and I've made it several times now.  My husband is fine having it for dinner if I've eaten a more regular meal at lunch and must stick to vegetables for supper.  I add some garlic bread or a piece of baguette broiled with cheese for him.

Vegetable Soup a la Provence- recipe here  0 Points on Weight Watchers

Dinners may be something like this:

My One-Pan Salmon with Spinach, Peppers, and Onions:  recipe here.

  Or I might add a little something to the vegetable soup:

Oven-Baked Vegetable Soup with Poached Egg, recipe here.

Last night, I worked on a new stir-fry, which I'll share next week sometime.  It's a fusion of Thai, Chinese, and maybe Minnesotan  as it contains walnuts--our unofficial state nut that grows right here on my street.

You can see I haven't been starving, but you can also see what I've been doing.

Thanks for your support!  I'd love to hear about your fitness efforts!  Wednesday blessings.

Sing a new song,
Alyce

... ... ... ... ... ...

In case you missed last week, here's what I'm doing:

My current fitness goals include these objectives:

•  lose ten pounds in eight weeks by changing/cutting back on my food intake and to....
•  put in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 4 days a week (outdoors when possible)
•  do a stretch routine daily
•  weight train 3 times a week
• blog my progress weekly

If you do the math, we're talking about (how do I get) 10 pounds off by Saint Patrick's Day (Sunday, March 17), which, if you're a long-time reader, you know is when I have a houseful of potato soup and soda bread:

I have a total of 35,000 calories to get rid of by any means that works.  I can do the math.  I know what foods have what calories (I'm a food blogger and have cooked all my life!) and I know what calories are burned by my typical exercise routines.  If I wanted to buy a beautiful $35,000 car for cash, I'd have to bank the money monthly--right--until I had enough to walk in to the dealer and lay down my check. (I'm doing that actually--for a trip, not for a car.)  To lose weight, I use the same concept, but in reverse.  I START OUT WITH the 35,000 in my "bank" and I take some out each week until there's nothing left.  If God is good (and I know that's the case), I'll have lost 10 pounds.
My way.  Still eating things I like within reason.  To make things rounded off and easy, I plan to take away, subtract, lose (whatever) 4,000 calories per week for a total of 32,000 calories.  The other 3,000 or 377  per week (53 per day) will come from less fat and dairy in my regular daily diet.

The weekly goal is to take away 4,000 calories per week for a total of 32,000 calories like this:

1. 30 minutes of low aerobic exercise (walk/light dance w/ 2 min run) a day 4 days a week (400 cal.)
2. No cream in my coffee 6x a week (Even God rested on Sunday.) (600 cal.)
3. No meat -2 nights a week/Cut back a bit other nights (1,000 calories)
4. Vegetables or fruit ONLY 4 lunches per week--the lion's share (2,000 cal.)