I haven't written in several days, mainly because nothing new was going on. Physically I'm over the intense sugar/junkfood cravings that dominated the first few days of this experiment. I hadn't lost any more weight than the original 9 pounds, but now I'm 2 more pounds down, so that seems a little significant.
I'm not exercising any more than usual and I haven't lowered my calorie count in any appreciatible way, other than replacing junkfood calories, with more healthy alternatives.
Definately, the first 72 hours are the roughest. If you can keep yourself junkfood free through those first 3 days, you'l find the subsequent days are much easier, to the point where your body isn't crying out for a Big Mac.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
214 hours down!
I'm back down to 280 pounds, and not having too much trouble staying away from the junk food. The biggest problem is finding healthy food when I'm hungry. I really don't have any appetite for it, and so I tend to go several hours being really hungry because nothing seems good, or even worth the effort of chewing (yeah, I'm that lazy, lol!).
I also need to get in the habit of having breakfast and lunch. I don't get hungry during the day, so I think that making an effort to eat during those times, so I don't end up overeating before I go to bed.
I also need to get in the habit of having breakfast and lunch. I don't get hungry during the day, so I think that making an effort to eat during those times, so I don't end up overeating before I go to bed.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
I almost slipped!
Whew, still no junk food, but it was this close! I'm proud to say I'm at 180 hours and no junk food! I couldn't sleep last night so monkeyed around online and around 1 am, I was getting famished. By 2, I had to consciously say NO TO JUNKFOOD! Instead I had some soup, a small salad, AND a Lean Cuisine type dealie. That staved off my hunger, but resulted in a one pound gain of weight. Better to have an extra pound of salad in me then a pound cake!
Monday, January 7, 2008
161 HOURS NO JUNK FOOD!!
Whooo hoooo! Getting close to surviving a whole week without my beloved junkfood, one down, 51 to go!
I'm still at 280, but have noticed another interesting phenomenon, I have no appetite whatsoever until 7 or 8 at night. I can go all day without eating and not even feeling the list bit hungry, and then by 7 or 8 I'm hungry. I make an effort to not eat after midnight, so in the past I would spend that 4 or 5 hours snacking, telling myself I needed to make up for not eating during the day.
I have always known I didn't have an appetite until that hour, but thought it was all the sugar talking and have since found that it's just the way my body works. I will need to make a concerted effort to eat both breakfast and lunch, and hopefully that will restore the daytime appetite. I have a feeling eating that late at night, is probably not a good thing, metabolism-wise.
I'm still at 280, but have noticed another interesting phenomenon, I have no appetite whatsoever until 7 or 8 at night. I can go all day without eating and not even feeling the list bit hungry, and then by 7 or 8 I'm hungry. I make an effort to not eat after midnight, so in the past I would spend that 4 or 5 hours snacking, telling myself I needed to make up for not eating during the day.
I have always known I didn't have an appetite until that hour, but thought it was all the sugar talking and have since found that it's just the way my body works. I will need to make a concerted effort to eat both breakfast and lunch, and hopefully that will restore the daytime appetite. I have a feeling eating that late at night, is probably not a good thing, metabolism-wise.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
141 HOURS NO JUNKFOOD!!!
Still at 280, but that's fine. Had a really hard time today trying to find 'healthy' food to eat, or rather, being hungry for any food period. It was about 7:00 this evening before I even thought about food. Hadn't eaten all day and finally forced myself to eat a Lean Cusine type meal, actually two of them, just so I would have the calories (about 620 calories for both). Normally, I would have just reached for some cookies, cake, or ice cream, so trading off is a task I have to pay attention to.
I know from experience that the first 72 hours of stopping any type of habit, weather it's eating, smoking, drinking, etc, are the most difficult. Your body/mind is trying to adjust to the chemical difference that it had become accustomed to. If you can get past those first days, in anything, you'll be find thereafter. That's not to say you won't have cravings, just that those cravings will subside dramatically after day 3.
So, now the sugar cravings have subsided dramatically. I've never been too much of a salty snack person. I don't like chips, crackers or other salty foods, so I don't have that to deal with as well. I do have to consciously think about food though, because I can easily get into periods of time where I won't eat anything, just because I don't have the appetite. I have gone about 2 weeks without eating before (a period of mourning) and it took more than a year for me to get back to eating regularly. Unfortunately, with the regular eating, came the regular snacking, which is where I find myself today.
In about 27 hours, I will have reached one full week of no junk food. I'm at least 9 pounds lighter this week, which amazes me, because I never realized how much snacking and slugging around the sofa I've done.
I know from experience that the first 72 hours of stopping any type of habit, weather it's eating, smoking, drinking, etc, are the most difficult. Your body/mind is trying to adjust to the chemical difference that it had become accustomed to. If you can get past those first days, in anything, you'll be find thereafter. That's not to say you won't have cravings, just that those cravings will subside dramatically after day 3.
So, now the sugar cravings have subsided dramatically. I've never been too much of a salty snack person. I don't like chips, crackers or other salty foods, so I don't have that to deal with as well. I do have to consciously think about food though, because I can easily get into periods of time where I won't eat anything, just because I don't have the appetite. I have gone about 2 weeks without eating before (a period of mourning) and it took more than a year for me to get back to eating regularly. Unfortunately, with the regular eating, came the regular snacking, which is where I find myself today.
In about 27 hours, I will have reached one full week of no junk food. I'm at least 9 pounds lighter this week, which amazes me, because I never realized how much snacking and slugging around the sofa I've done.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
108 hours NO JUNK FOOD
Wow, I am down 2 more pounds, I'm at 280 right now. I have been drinking 5 or 6 glasses of water everyday, so it's not 'water weight', which implies that drinking more water would just put it back on. I used to drink soda (both diet and regular) and lots of juice, so substituting water or lemon water, is probably saving me over 600 calories a day.
Lemon water is a natural diuretic, and will really help to flush out your system. Squeeze several tablespoons in a class or small bottle of cold water, or make a 'tea' with hot water. You'll soon be peeing A LOT and OFTEN! But don't overdue it. People think if a little is great, more must be stupendous! If that's your attitude, then it's easy to see why moderation is a problem.
I'm not craving the junkfood so much. The pies, the cookies, the cakes, the ice cream (sob). I am having a very hard time fitting 'healthy' food into my life. Nothing really appeals to me. I was never one of those 5-boxes-of-cheap-mac-and-cheese-at-one-sitting kind of people (but I do know a few of them, lol). I've always preferred healthy meals, but my downfall is that I prefer snacks more, so I was substituting snacks for meals.
I honestly didn't realize I was doing this. I knew I overdid it on the junkfood, I just didn't realize to what extent I was substituting. Now, I'm having a hard time developing meals, because everything looks so boring. There is nothing more exciting than a couple of packs of those delicious little chocolate mini donuts for breakfast, followed by a big glass of oj (not the murderer). But I digress...
If you see losing 9 pounds in less than a week as one of those "omg, I HAVE TO DO THIS, I have to lose 10 pounds this week" moments, then you may be sadly mistaken. I am fat! Real fat. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it (mmm, did I say sugar?) by saying I'm 'big-boned" or 'heavy". I'm fat. F-A-T. Simply put, that 9 pounds is equivilant to about 3% of my starting body weight. If you are 200 pounds, and you expect to lose 3% of your body weight in a week, you would have to lose 6 pounds. If you are 150 pounds, you would lose 4 pounds. You can't be 150 and expect to lose 9 pounds, it just won't work for you.
The percentage I lost is not a constant. Generally when making food lifestyle choices you can expect a huge surge initially, and then as your body metabolism adjusts to the new way, it will taper off and perhaps be a little more consistent, maybe settling at 3 or 4 pounds per week.
Though I talk a lot about weight, this experiment isn't about losing weight, it's about seeing the overall effect that eliminating junkfood can accomplish. I've not noticed any appreciatable change in my energy level (but then again I'm a big fat slug, really no exercise at all), or in my mood/attitude. I do like the challenge of staying away from junk food, as I'm pretty competitive in that regard, so for now that's the only emotional benefit I've seen.
With almost 109 hours down, I have only 8675 hours to go! WHOOO HOOO!
Lemon water is a natural diuretic, and will really help to flush out your system. Squeeze several tablespoons in a class or small bottle of cold water, or make a 'tea' with hot water. You'll soon be peeing A LOT and OFTEN! But don't overdue it. People think if a little is great, more must be stupendous! If that's your attitude, then it's easy to see why moderation is a problem.
I'm not craving the junkfood so much. The pies, the cookies, the cakes, the ice cream (sob). I am having a very hard time fitting 'healthy' food into my life. Nothing really appeals to me. I was never one of those 5-boxes-of-cheap-mac-and-cheese-at-one-sitting kind of people (but I do know a few of them, lol). I've always preferred healthy meals, but my downfall is that I prefer snacks more, so I was substituting snacks for meals.
I honestly didn't realize I was doing this. I knew I overdid it on the junkfood, I just didn't realize to what extent I was substituting. Now, I'm having a hard time developing meals, because everything looks so boring. There is nothing more exciting than a couple of packs of those delicious little chocolate mini donuts for breakfast, followed by a big glass of oj (not the murderer). But I digress...
If you see losing 9 pounds in less than a week as one of those "omg, I HAVE TO DO THIS, I have to lose 10 pounds this week" moments, then you may be sadly mistaken. I am fat! Real fat. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it (mmm, did I say sugar?) by saying I'm 'big-boned" or 'heavy". I'm fat. F-A-T. Simply put, that 9 pounds is equivilant to about 3% of my starting body weight. If you are 200 pounds, and you expect to lose 3% of your body weight in a week, you would have to lose 6 pounds. If you are 150 pounds, you would lose 4 pounds. You can't be 150 and expect to lose 9 pounds, it just won't work for you.
The percentage I lost is not a constant. Generally when making food lifestyle choices you can expect a huge surge initially, and then as your body metabolism adjusts to the new way, it will taper off and perhaps be a little more consistent, maybe settling at 3 or 4 pounds per week.
Though I talk a lot about weight, this experiment isn't about losing weight, it's about seeing the overall effect that eliminating junkfood can accomplish. I've not noticed any appreciatable change in my energy level (but then again I'm a big fat slug, really no exercise at all), or in my mood/attitude. I do like the challenge of staying away from junk food, as I'm pretty competitive in that regard, so for now that's the only emotional benefit I've seen.
With almost 109 hours down, I have only 8675 hours to go! WHOOO HOOO!
Say goodbye to another POUND!
Wow, who would have thunk just getting rid of junk food was such an effective diet aid?
I'm at 7 pounds down as of January 4 in the morning. I have been running errands all day and getting stuck in storms, I was unable to update until now.
I had a tiny sip of Pepsi, because I was running around and absolutely parched and that was the only thing available. I'm not a Pepsi drinker anyway, so it wasn't a big deal--not like I was going to go running down the street chasing the Pepsi truck after his delivery to the supermarket.
I forgot what hour we're at, around hour 96 I think. Wow. I'm actually doing this.
I'm at 7 pounds down as of January 4 in the morning. I have been running errands all day and getting stuck in storms, I was unable to update until now.
I had a tiny sip of Pepsi, because I was running around and absolutely parched and that was the only thing available. I'm not a Pepsi drinker anyway, so it wasn't a big deal--not like I was going to go running down the street chasing the Pepsi truck after his delivery to the supermarket.
I forgot what hour we're at, around hour 96 I think. Wow. I'm actually doing this.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
70.5 hours and I feel like I'm going to go crazy!
So, I did the worst thing a person who doesn't want to eat junk food can do (barring eating the junk food) and I looked up the menu of this great Mexican restaurant I'm supposed to go to tomorrow and YUM their stuff is so good I may have a hard time saying no to all the delectable goodness. I planned on having a couple of chicken tacos (absolutely to die for), but looking through all the mouthwatering quesidillas and fajitas and nachos....seriously, I feel like I have a half gallon of saliva in my mouth just from dreaming about it.
Plus I'm HUNGRY, but this is the danger zone. It's 10:30 pm, and probably not a good time to eat, even though I didn't eat much today. Without my trusty junkfood, nothing seems appetizing anymore, unless it's fried, or coated in chocolate.
I think I'll have some soup. Soup is good. Soup won't betray you by showing up on your thighs 15 minutes after consuming it like a delicious hunk of cherry pie would. Soup knows it's place.
Plus I'm HUNGRY, but this is the danger zone. It's 10:30 pm, and probably not a good time to eat, even though I didn't eat much today. Without my trusty junkfood, nothing seems appetizing anymore, unless it's fried, or coated in chocolate.
I think I'll have some soup. Soup is good. Soup won't betray you by showing up on your thighs 15 minutes after consuming it like a delicious hunk of cherry pie would. Soup knows it's place.
WOW! DOWN 6 POUNDS IN 60 HOURS!!!
Now that I've kicked soda and juice as the beverages of choice, I'm forced to drink...ugh....water. Lots of water. I believe all this water drinkage has helped me get to 283 pounds, a reduction of 6 pounds since I started this experiment!
Still no junk food for me :( Last night I went to Safeway, and they had the most lucious, most junkiest junkfood one could imagine; velvety smooth chocolate cakes, ice cream, cookies, ahhh the cookies. I'm usually not a cookie eater, but a box of lemon creams called my name so sweetly it was all I could do to hold myself back from grabbing it and showering it with love.
It's not easy giving up junk food. There's a whole lot of it out there, and it seems to overwhelm the healthy food. I guess if you're a big beefy raspberry danish, up against a coweringly little carrot stick, well you're just going to have to kick sand in the face of that little carrot stick, now won't you? I think the junkfood to healthyfood ratio is about 25:1 in the grocery store. You will even find junkfood in the healthy food areas. Health food never crosses that junkfood boundary though. Though you will often find stuff like a container of tofu in the potato chip aisle. It's only there because some poor sap, made the mistake of carting her tofu into the danger zone, and then succumbed to temptation and swapped the tofu for an extra large bag of Ruffles and a jar of conveniently located, very junkfoody, ranch dip.
It's a conspiracy I tell ya! I am 60 hours down, 8724 hours to go, JUNKFOOD FREE!!!!
Still no junk food for me :( Last night I went to Safeway, and they had the most lucious, most junkiest junkfood one could imagine; velvety smooth chocolate cakes, ice cream, cookies, ahhh the cookies. I'm usually not a cookie eater, but a box of lemon creams called my name so sweetly it was all I could do to hold myself back from grabbing it and showering it with love.
It's not easy giving up junk food. There's a whole lot of it out there, and it seems to overwhelm the healthy food. I guess if you're a big beefy raspberry danish, up against a coweringly little carrot stick, well you're just going to have to kick sand in the face of that little carrot stick, now won't you? I think the junkfood to healthyfood ratio is about 25:1 in the grocery store. You will even find junkfood in the healthy food areas. Health food never crosses that junkfood boundary though. Though you will often find stuff like a container of tofu in the potato chip aisle. It's only there because some poor sap, made the mistake of carting her tofu into the danger zone, and then succumbed to temptation and swapped the tofu for an extra large bag of Ruffles and a jar of conveniently located, very junkfoody, ranch dip.
It's a conspiracy I tell ya! I am 60 hours down, 8724 hours to go, JUNKFOOD FREE!!!!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I'm at 45 hours NO JUNK FOOD!!!
Amazingly, I lost 3 pounds since I started. In October 2005 I was 182, and have been steadily gaining since. Now after gaining over 100 pounds in the last two years, this is the first time I've actually lost any weight!
So, 3 pounds is gone. I would still love some yummy delicious junk food. I'm realizing that junk food made up a bigger part of my daily diet than healthy food. Part of it is laziness, part of it is fatigue, where it's easier to grab something from the snack shelf because the apnea makes me so tired all the time. Also, I tend to eat a lot of sweets, partly for the energy they give me when I'm so tired.
Amazingly, I lost 3 pounds since I started. In October 2005 I was 182, and have been steadily gaining since. Now after gaining over 100 pounds in the last two years, this is the first time I've actually lost any weight!
So, 3 pounds is gone. I would still love some yummy delicious junk food. I'm realizing that junk food made up a bigger part of my daily diet than healthy food. Part of it is laziness, part of it is fatigue, where it's easier to grab something from the snack shelf because the apnea makes me so tired all the time. Also, I tend to eat a lot of sweets, partly for the energy they give me when I'm so tired.
Happy New Year 2 Me!
So, I'm fat. How fat? Really fat. My resolution for 2008 is to see if I can kick junk food for one year. That's 8784 hours (damn Leap Year!) This may or may not affect my current weight. This is not about weight loss though it's about making a change. At the end of the year I want to be able to say "12 months junk food free". I'm assuming one of the side effects from this junk food hiatus will be the diminishment of precious fat cells. We shall see.
Because I anticipate a reduction in size/weight, I shall post my current stats for all to see, point and laugh at. Just remember, at my current weight I can stalk you down and sit on your head and split it like a melon, so be careful when you point and laugh. It may take me a little time to get to you, but I will get there!
Here we go:
Gender: Female
Age: 44
Height: 5' 7.5"
Weight: 289 pounds. Yes, I'm THAT FAT!!
BMI (Body Mass Index): 44.6 (30.0 is obese, so I'm 50% more obese than obese!)
All the following measurements are in inches, none of those Canookian metric units for the good ol' USA!
neck: 15.75
upper arm: 15
bust: 53
upper waist: 42
navel: 56.5
hips: 54
upper thigh: 29
above knee: 20
calf: 18.5
From those dimensions, you can see I am shaped roughly like a barrel. When I think of my measurements 20 years ago, I realize my calf size is the size my thighs used to be, and my current upper thigh is bigger than my waist was at age 24 (25"). As for weight, I was 120 pounds dripping wet.
I have severe apnea. It will probably end up killing me. I've had a couple of surgeries, and my apnea numbers didn't show any real improvement.
Last year, at this time I was 250 pounds. The combination of severe apnea (which causes unexplained weight loss) and my bad eating habits have joined forces, and I'm now at critical mass, no pun intended.
I will post periodic updates to report my progress in beating junkfood and if there is any affect on my weight, I will update that as well.
I am 25 hours JUNKFOOD FREE!
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