Published March 7, 2010

Losing Weight: Day 6 - Snacking

by Helen M. Ryan

Cloudy Weather  Snack-a-Thon

Cloudy days and cold weather always inspire me to eat. I think it’s a “hibernation” thing. Today, I just wanted to eat, snuggle under the covers and sleep all day.

To counteract doing something detrimental to my progress I made sure that I ate every two hours or so – tricking myself into thinking I was snacking. After breakfast and teaching a Spinning class, I had a small sugar-free* Vanilla Latte with soy milk, then an hour later ordered a warm and filling Buddha’s Feast with tofu from Pick Up Stix. It’s hard to tell from the nutritional information on their web site what it actually was that I was eating. I wanted the Wok Smart entrée (under 500 calories), but received small containers of brown rice and Buddha’s Feast instead. I had to just work with that.
I ate only 1/3 of the meal at lunch because I wasn’t very hungry (the latte had filled me up). Throughout the day, I snacked on the remainder of the food – in about 1/3 increments. It helped me feel constantly full, feel like I was eating a lot – fulfilling my desire to snack – and still kept me within a reasonable daily calorie count. It gave me a nice serving of vegetables and fiber, too.

It's good sometimes to "fake yourself out." The constant small eating helped me feel like I was eating a lot - just what the dreary day ordered.

Stiff and Sore - Oh Yay

I’m a little stiff and sore today. The kettlebells I’ve added to my workout have fried my thighs and butt, and since I challenged my core a bit more my abdominals were tender, an area usually hard for me to feel anything in. My shoulders are feel the  workout I did at the gym after class. I used mostly free weights today, with a “pyramid up” structure, i.e. starting with a lower weight set first, mid-weight second set and heavier weight last set. Then I played with a Humansport machine and decided I liked the independent pulleys and the way the cables move with me, yet independent of each other. Though I prefer bodyweight, kettlebells and free weights, I like machines that work like the human body does, and doesn't "lock you into" a particular position. The more variety in workouts the better, I say. Keeps my body on its toes.

Feeling Stronger

I was definitely feeling stronger mentally and physically today. That urge to binge is actually gone. I'm surprised this early in the game. But it will come back again. This I know. It's all about outlasting and outsmarting cravings.
This is a short day, blogging-wise. I have deadlines looming.
Onward and forward.
Until tomorrow.
How did you do today? Share your thoughts. You can do so anonymously. I'd like to hear from you.

TODAY'S STATS
6.5 hours of sleep.
1 hour Spinning class, followed by 30 minutes of upper body weight training at the gym.
For food?

  • Plain oatmeal with flax seeds, nonfat milk, walnuts pieces and chocolate chips (60% cocoa - a must) - breakfast.
  • *Sugar-free vanilla latte (usually I stay away from artificial sweeteners. I use Stevia, mostly, but today I went with whatever the coffee shop had - the chemical sucralose.
  • Buddha's Fest with brown rice and tofu - lunch.
  • Low fat frozen yogurt with walnuts and a few 60% chocolate chips - snack.
  • More Buddha's Fest with brown rice and tofu- snack.
  • More Buddha's Fest with brown rice and tofu - dinner.
  • Strawberries and blueberries - snack.
  • Tangelo - bedtime snack.

[Click on the Weight Loss category to read earlier posts...from Day 1 and on.]

>Continue reading to Day 7: Rest