Lisa's Weightloss Journal (comments welcomed!)

[Castillo Mom]

Thurs. 1/16/14

Had a very restless night for some reason but despite that I've had a pretty fair amount of energy today which I'm surprised at. I know I'm only on day two of induction but I know the last time I did it I was really dragging by this point. I'm also not very hungry today so it seems that appetite suppression has already kicked in although I did wake up with a mild headache.

Let me preface what I'm going to say with the fact that I would never criticize anyone for doing WW. Everybody has to make their own choice about what works for them. When I was doing WW I did lose weight, no doubt about it. However I did experience hunger much of the time and I think that could've been due to the higher carb and fruit intake. I love fruit, pasta and bread but the bottom line is that I need to limit these food groups. There's a strong history of diabetes in my family and although I haven't developed it yet, it could be in my future.

I did struggle with water intake yesterday. I don't know why but for some reason once I get home I just don't feel like drinking water but I don't struggle as much at work. I'm going to try to drink most of my water during the day then have my last 16 oz with dinner or evening snack and see if that helps.

Time to get back to work!

I'm back! Time to post my menu for today.

Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar
Coffee with two packets of Splenda
Two "triangles" of Laughing Cow cheese
16 oz. water

Lunch
Toppings off of three smallish slices of pizza
16 oz. of water

Snack
Toppings off one very small slice of pizza
16 oz. of water

Dinner
Protein avocado burger consisting of a hamburger patty (obviously), .5 avocado, .5 cup salad greens
.5 cup broccoli
16 oz. Ice sparkling water

I know dinner doesn't sound very spectacular but that hamburger patty was delicious! Sometimes simple food can be incredibly satisfying, especially when prepared properly and the ingredients are fresh. My favorite way to fry burgers is in a cast iron skillet. It makes for a wonderful crust on the meat. I know earlier I said I wasn't very hungry today but my appetite kicked in around 4:30. However, no sugar cravings for some reason. Maybe it'll take a day or two more for my body to start wondering where all the sugar went!

On another positive note, I got all my water in today.


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[Castillo Mom]

Fri. 1/17/14

Today was a long day I'm so glad the week is finally over! Food-wise, things got slightly precarious but I did stay OP.

Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar
Coffee
32 oz. of water

Lunch
This is the precarious part. I had to run to AAA this afternoon so I thought I'd stop by the Cuban bakery next door to grab lunch to take back to the office. No, I had no intentions of eating off plan! They also happen to have yummy salads and soups there. I opted for a chicken salad which I thought looked yummy. Not the type of chicken salad with chunks of chicken and mixed greens, the kind of chicken salad that's mixed with mayo, celery, etc. that you'd put in a sandwich, only they topped a bed of lettuce with it. Anyway, when I got back to the office and put my fork into it was when I realized that there was ditalini rigati pasta in it! It wouldn't have been worth it to pick it out so I ended up not eating lunch other than two "triangles" of Laughing Cow cheese and 16 oz. of water.

Dinner
2 small chicken drumsticks
1.5 cup salad greens with .5 roma tomato, .5 avocado, Italian dressing
1 cup broccoli
16 oz. Ice sparkling water

I'm still pretty behind at work so I'm going to the office tomorrow. Actually looking forward to it since I'll be by myself. Until tomorrow!

 

[Castillo Mom]

I came into the office this morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Well, not so much but I made it.

If anyone is following this you know by now that I struggle with obsessing over the scale. I was supposed to wait until Monday but I couldn't resist so I hopped on. Drum roll please....I'm down to 206.4.

I woke up pretty hungry this morning for some reason, so on my to work I went to a local grease pit and picked up breakfast but I don't want to post my food intake yet so I'll save that for later.

Time to get back to work!

 

[honeymo78]

So proud of you for saying no to the "pasta" chicken salad. I'm a scale addict too. Seeing it moving in the right directions helps. If the scale holds til Wed, then I'll have lost 5lbs in 2 weeks. I know a bunch of it was retained water but I'll take whatever I can.

 

[Castillo Mom]

So proud of you for saying no to the "pasta" chicken salad. I'm a scale addict too. Seeing it moving in the right directions helps. If the scale holds til Wed, then I'll have lost 5lbs in 2 weeks. I know a bunch of it was retained water but I'll take whatever I can.

Hi Stephanie, thanks so much for the words of encouragement! You know, I was just talking to my sister yesterday about the initial pounds lost and how it's water weight. Hey, I'm fine with that because after that come the "real" pounds. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Congrats on your loss as well, I know the scale will hold for you!

 

[Castillo Mom]

I'm back! I had a pretty busy weekend so didn't get a chance to post menus but I did stay OP.

Sat. 1/18/14

Breakfast
Chorizo and eggs, 3 strips of bacon
Coffee
32 oz. of water

Lunch
Yikes, didn't eat lunch because I got distracted with a project

Dinner
Salad greens with chicken, tomato and .5 avocado
Ice sparkling water

Sun. 1/19/14

Breakfast
Two turkey/cream cheese roll ups
16 oz. of water

Lunch
I had a very late breakfast so no lunch

Dinner
Two scrambled eggs with cheese
Side salad with tomato, .5 avocado
Ice sparking water

Mon. 1/20/14

Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar
16 oz. of water

Lunch
Two eggs over easy
Pork chop
Coffee
16 oz. of water

Dinner
Salad with a whole avocado, tomato
Three turkey/cream cheese roll ups
Ice sparkling water

Snack
2 slices of cheese

So yes, I was very busy this weekend since I worked on Saturday. When I got home I decided to embark on the long-postponed project of transferring photos from my old Dell laptop to my Macbook Pro. Had a lot of fun looking at the pictures and found some of me when we went to WDW in '04 which was when at my thinnest. It was very motivating.

Speaking of motivating, I peeked at the scale this morning. I just couldn't resist but in my defense I was very pleased with what I saw. Not posting my current weight until Wednesday though which is when I will have completed one full week of induction. Let's see if the scale moves a tad between here and there!

I noticed my pants didn't fit as tight. They're size 16s but I could technically be wearing 18s. Oh no, not gonna do that! Now that the 16s are a little less snug there's no need to wear the larger size.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Wednesday 1/22/14

Whoa, long day today! Don't feel like posting yesterday's for but I will post today's.

Breakfast
Oops, I got side tracked so none today.
16 oz. of water

Lunch
Got side tracked again but had an Atkins breakfast bar.
16 oz. of water

Dinner
Double protein burger from In-N-Out
Ice Sparking Water

So today was weigh-in. I've been on Atkins for one week and I've lost 4 lbs. Not too shabby. We shall see what next week brings!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Thurs. 1/23/14

Had a really good day today food-wise. I ate all there meals, stayed OP and got all my water in. Yay for me!

Breakfast
2 eggs
3 slices of bacon
16 oz. of water

Lunch
Bunless turkey burger
32 oz. of water

Dinner
3 turkey/cream cheese roll ups
Salad with ranch dressing
Ice sparkling water

Snack
Atkins caramel chocolate nut bar

I fed my scale addiction today and weighed myself. Lost another pound, woohoo! Yes, I know it's water weight but it's the process I need to go through to get to actual fat loss which is right around the corner. Can't wait!

With spring pretty much already here in California, I've now turned my attention to something I'm going to treat myself to. I'm hoping to have lost 20 lbs. by sometime in March so to celebrate I'm going to gift myself something I've been wanting for a while. Now I usually keep my treats under $50 but this time I'm busting the budget a bit.

I love to cook but one thing I haven't mastered is grilling. In the past my husband was the one who did the actual grilling, I just prepared the meat and sides. With him being gone now it's been a looong time since I've had good barbecue from anyplace other than a restaurant. Well, time to do it myself! then!

Sooo, I'm getting a Weber grill. I guess it's not actually a gift for me personally per se. My sons will also be the beneficiaries of said yummy barbecue goodness so it's technically a family purchase. I've been researching online and I think I'm going to get the larger 26.75 kettle grill. That way I have plenty of room for veggies and such in addition to whatever protein I'm making. I would also want to grill larger quantities so that there are enough leftovers for the next day since I'm struggling a bit with lunches at work.

Well, time to turn in. It'll be another long work day tomorrow but at least it'll be Friday!

 

[honeymo78]

Wednesday 1/22/14 Whoa, long day today! Don't feel like posting yesterday's for but I will post today's. Breakfast Oops, I got side tracked so none today. 16 oz. of water Lunch Got side tracked again but had an Atkins breakfast bar. 16 oz. of water Dinner Double protein burger from In-N-Out Ice Sparking Water So today was weigh-in. I've been on Atkins for one week and I've lost 4 lbs. Not too shabby. We shall see what next week brings!

I'm so glad you've kept on track and had a nice loss for the week. I ended up down 6 over 2 weeks.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I'm so glad you've kept on track and had a nice loss for the week. I ended up down 6 over 2 weeks.

Hi Stephanie, thanks so much for the encouragement. You're doing great too! It's so nice to have some company on this journey. I started a LC thread since I didn't see one. There are other LC forums but I haven't felt comfortable posting over there. The DIS is the only discussion board I really participate in so it feels like home to me somehow. Anyway, I posted in the LC thread that I'm going to Disneyland today so it's going to be a challenge. I decided to spend a little time on W.I.S.H. before going as a motivation to stay OP. I think I'll be ok!

 

[Castillo Mom]

I'm baaack! I'm happy to say that I made it through our visit to Disneyland and stayed OP, woohoo! Not going to post menus tonight, too tired and ready to hit the sack after a long but very fun day.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Ok, I'm going to try to see if I can remember what I ate the last three days!

Fri. 1/2414
Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar
16 oz. of water

Lunch
Ribeye steak salad
8 oz. of water

Dinner
2 turkey/cream cheese roll ups
Salad greens
16 oz. of water

Sat. 1/25/14
Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar
1 boiled egg

Lunch
Mexican chicken salad
16 oz of water

Dinner
Had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and survived!
Roasted chicken
Side salad
Broccoli
Iced Tea
3 or 4 bites of low carb cheese cake but didn't touch the crust at all!

Sun. 1/26/14
Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar

Lunch
Leftover roasted chicken
Broccoli
Ice sparkling water

Dinner
Chicken salad
Coke Zero

Snack
3 sugar free/low carb chocolate caramel turtles

Mon. 1/27/14
Breakfast
Atkins breakfast bar

Lunch
Protein turkey burger (yuck, it was dry and flavorless)
Coke Zero

Dinner
Pork carnitas
Side salad with .5 avocado
1 tbsp. hummus (I know, weird but it's the closest I could get to beans)
.5 container Snapple SF iced tea

Snack
Atkins chocolate/caramel bar

I did really bad with the water today! I had jury duty so I didn't want to be drinking a lot of water. Will hopefully make up for it tomorrow.

Well, I'm super sleepy for some reason so I'm gonna turn in early. Tomorrow's not my official weigh in day but I need to see how I did over the weekend. Need to pick up some keto sticks to so I can see if I'm still in ketosis. We shall see!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Thurs. 1/30/15

I'm here! It's been a very busy week. Well, not really that busy, just different. I got a jury summons recently and my appearance was mandatory. Seems I postponed one too many times. Oops! I'm actually glad that it happened now and not in October when take our Disney cruise. I thought for sure I'd be dismissed but got selected as a juror which was my first time. It was a very interesting case that concluded yesterday so I wasn't away from work for too long.

Anyway, the point of this journal is weightless right? So let's get to it. I don't feel like back tracking so I'm going to post today's menu.

Breakfast
Yikes, all I ate was string cheese with a cup of coffee.
16 oz. of water

Lunch
Cream of broccoli soup - yum!
16 oz. of water

Dinner
Carnitas
Side salad with .5 avocado
Ice sparking water

So I completed the first two weeks of induction and lost a grand total of 6 lbs. At first I was disappointed when I looked back at the beginning of my journal and realized that I had lost 8 lbs. when I first started Atkins in '04. I've gotta keep a positive outlook though, I mean 6 lbs. is good! Unfortunately patience isn't one of my virtues and something I'm working on. I'm just so anxious to reach my first goal of 20 lbs.

That being said I'm going to go ahead and stay on induction for another two weeks and see how things go.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Tues. 2/4/14

Dropping in to post how I'm doing before heading to bed. Super Bowl Sunday came and went and I survived! Well, sort of. I didn't host a party this year but I still cooked because my sons and their friends asked me to bring something to the party we attended. I made a bacon and caramelized onion dip, chili and cornbread from scratch. The dip was perfectly legal for me to eat but the chili and cornbread obviously weren't. I hadn't baked in a while and I had a very small piece of the cornbread. It was delicious! I made it with fresh cut corn and sprinkled crispy bacon over the top of it before putting it in the oven. Using a cast iron skillet yields the best results - it was divine!

That being said I had a bit of a whoosh with my weight loss. I was getting a bit concerned because as of Saturday the scale hadn't budged for several days. Monday, same thing, no budging of the scale. But this morning the scale finally moved! I'm not going to post my weight until Friday. I'm switching my official weigh in day to Friday to coincide with the W.I.S.H. challenge which I joined for the first time this month. I made a goal of 5 pounds so we'll see how I do!

Too tired to post my meals for today but suffice it to see that I stayed OP and got all my water in.

 

[honeymo78]

Glad you made it through Super Bowl Sunday and ended up with a nice loss. Things have been on a bit of a physical and emotional roller coaster here but somehow I'm managing to stay on track enough to keep losing - 12lbs in 4 weeks, although I'll be happy if I haven't gained any of that back this week. I'm still waiting for the gym just around the corner to open. It's so frustrating to see all the equipment ready to go inside but they can't open until the weather allows them to pave the parking lot.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Glad you made it through Super Bowl Sunday and ended up with a nice loss. Things have been on a bit of a physical and emotional roller coaster here but somehow I'm managing to stay on track enough to keep losing - 12lbs in 4 weeks, although I'll be happy if I haven't gained any of that back this week. I'm still waiting for the gym just around the corner to open. It's so frustrating to see all the equipment ready to go inside but they can't open until the weather allows them to pave the parking lot.

Hi Stephanie! Thanks for your kind words. I got a little worried there for a minute because I hadn't had a loss for a few days but I was able to push through it. Congrats on losing 12 lbs., that's great! I've you've gained back try not to be hard on yourself. I get into a vicious cycle of guilt when I gain and it really does no good. That's great that you have a gym near your home, hopefully they'll open up soon. As for the emotional roller coaster, that can wreak havoc on weight loss. It really helps to talk it out with a friend or family member. Maybe have a girls night out to boost your spirit. Sending a big hug your way!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Mon. 2/10/14

Had a very busy weekend, watched my niece and nephew on Saturday, started on early spring cleaning and went to a baby shower on Sunday. The baby shower was coed and they had a DJ so I was able to get in a little exercise with some dancing. My only frustration is that I can't dance the way I used to due to my ankle. Who knows, maybe if I lose enough weight my pain will be reduced.

Breakfast
Oops, I wasn't well prepared today so didn't have time.

Lunch
Chicken from El Pollo Loco with side salad and steamed broccoli

Dinner
Protein burger

Got all my water in today! I also hopped on the scale and had another loss. Not posting my weight until official weigh in on Friday but suffice it to say that I reached a milestone!

 

[Castillo Mom]

Monday 2/17/14

Popping in to say that I'm still on track. I haven't been posting my meals because I've been spending more time on the WISH Challenge thread for February. I'm doing really well I think. I weighed in on Friday and was down to 198. Weighed in again this morning and was down to 197. I'm firmly in onederland! The great think too is that I'm out of the water weight loss phase.

Had a great weekend and although I haven't started going to the gym I've increased my physical activity at home. Did a lot of walking on Sunday and tonight I continued on with my early spring cleaning project. I'm doing it little by little so it's going to take a couple of months to complete.

I decided to start with my bedroom and master bathroom. I've been wanting to reorganize my makeup but didn't want to spend so much money the acrylic organizers. Well, yesterday my sister invited me to go to a Japanese dollar store. At first I declined because I can't stand dollar stores but she insisted. The name of it is Daiso and when I walked in I was in heaven! Pink everywhere and so clean and organized! Most of the products were of decent quality and adorable! I bought several clear containers and used them for my makeup and I love them so gotta go back for more.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Tues. 2/25/14

Well, looks like I've fallen off the wagon as far as posting my meals every day so I've decided to let myself off the hook a bit. I think at the beginning (restarting Atkins) I needed to post every day in order to get back on track and keep myself motivated. At this point it's extremely difficult for me to post my meals on a daily basis.

I'm still on the wagon as far as staying OP. I'm doing really well and am down to 196 lbs., woohoo! I will continue posting to my journal and may post menus from time to time but it won't be daily.

Had a great weekend. Saturday I went out to lunch with a couple of dear friends. We went to a Brazilian churrascaria. It was low carb heaven! If anyone is reading, please forgive me I'm too tired to explain it. Google is your friend! In any case, I did a good job staying away from the high carb items on the buffet and stuck to salad and the meats of course! When the waiter brought the dessert cart around I wasn't the least bit tempted.

Sunday was even better. My family and I participated in Dapper Day at Disneyland for the first time and had a blast! Again, if you're reading, Google is your you-know-what.:surf web: We dressed 50s retro which really added to the enjoyment of the event. The parks were packed which was expected. We knew it wouldn't be a day to get on multiple rides, it was more about soaking in the atmosphere and people watching. We had a very special dinner planned at Carthay Circle which was perfect as the restaurant has a vintage design. As for the meal, I did allow myself to have a slice of bread and a few bites of my son's mashed potatoes. I also had the most delicious pear martini. No, part of my meal was not Atkins-approved but this was planned. I checked my weight yesterday and I'd lost a pound since Friday, checked again this morning and my one pound lost stuck, plus I was down a few more ounces.

Since I want to incorporate photos of my journey to weight loss, here's a couple pics on Dapper Day:

 

[Castillo Mom]

Wed. 3/6/14

Just checking in. Hanging in there and still doing induction with no issues. Not sure how much longer I want to do that but at some point I need to start phase two. Weighed in this morning and the scale says I'm down to 193.5. That makes me very happy because I know that by the end of the month I'll be out of the 190s! Can't wait!

I was thinking about posting my goal for May but I think it's a bit too soon so I'll keep it under wraps for now. Either way, whenever I decide to go on to phase two of Atkins it'll be because I'm incorporating more physical activity into my routine.