Sunsway - I'm REALLY gonna do it this time.

[A Touch of Evil]

Portion control was kinda tough at first, but I usually start feeling full shortly after eating the dish so that's a sign to stop eating. I gained all this weight by over eating and not paying attention to what I snack on. Also, I think you asked about dark chocolate and if I crave more when I eat it. Usually I don't. When I feel like eating something sweet, I'll break off 1 or 2 little squares, and nibble on those for a while and after, I feel pretty satisfied.

Even when I eat out, I try to cut back on sauces and cheese. I should probably get rid of mayo all together too.

To answer your questions, I usually snack on nuts or protein bars. Protein bars are kinda fatty though so it's something to have if there is no other food or if you are in a hurry somewhere or running late.

No, I don't plan my meals, I eat what ever us available in the house at that time. Usually, for breakfast though, I plan to eat 1 egg with veggies and some kind of bread. But the rest of the meals depend on what I have in the house. If you do your own grocery shopping, then planning meals ahead of time probably is ideal.

For iPhone users: there is an app called Diet2go that has many different food diets to follow. It's pretty cool, there are separate shopping lists for each diet to last 1 week, and it tells you what and when to eat (you can set and adjust the times though) and you follow it every week. I would use it if I dis my own grocery shopping because it's really helpful for those who pre-prepare meals in advance.  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 2 DAY 5 -- WEDNESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2010

Wow, thanks for that response. That was very informative. =) I usually don't 'nibble' when I eat chocolate but chew it, so maybe that's my problem. I'm eating it too fast without stopping to enjoy it. That goes for my other food, too.

I think I might try meal planning for a few days (I'm googling it right now smile ), see how that goes. Eating right is reeeally hard for me, even when I have the resources and can buy whatever food I want to -- I'm mostly on bread. I know I need to change that but I don't want to. stressed But that's a motivation problem that I'll have to sort out.

Ah, anyway. I didn't go cycling this morning 'cause it was windy and rainy.... if the weather gets better I'll go for a run later.  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 2 WEIGH-IN

Starting: 139.5 lbs
Now: 140.5 lbs

O noe! Seeing an 140 on that scale was one of my biggest fears. But I won't beat myself up about it because I did go crazy with the exercise for the past week, and introduced cycling which my body had to get used to. Yes, I'm disappointed but I just gotta breathe it out and move on.

Nevertheless! This calls for some new 'non-negotiable' rules. My exercise is fine but I really gotta try to nail the diet side of it. That's where my willpower fails.  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 3 DAY 3 -- MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2010

Ate well today. Vegetables? Check. Beans? Check. Fish? Check. No overeating? Check, finally.

Actually, I went to work today and expected to get home early because I thought there wouldn't be enough to do, so I packed a rather flimsy lunch/snacks -- some almonds, a rather tiny can of kidney beans, cherry tomatoes, and banana... work stretched for the whole day though! whee Well, I got home and managed not to stuff myself with bread, but instead had vegetables and fish.

The bad part is that I was too hungry to run. <_< O well. I'll do something tomorrow.  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 3 DAY 7 -- FRIDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2010

Meh. I haven't been exercising the past couple of days. Yesterday my monthly friend visited so I felt too blah to run, and today I had a full day of classes so I'm too blah to do much of anything.

My dad took some time off work and now he's going crazy in the kitchen. He makes delicious food but he doesn't care about the fat content etc, so it has a looot of oil. My mom and I managed to nag him out of adding exteme amounts of salt though, thankfully. sweatdrop

We got a food book and it has a lot of different tips about drying food like fruit, mushrooms, etc. I'd like to give that a go. =) My grandmother in Ukraine used to dry home-grown fruit like pears, apples and apricots, and it was absolutely delicious. And none of that syropy crap and processing -- just honest, flavoursome, dry fruit. Dried in the sun. Mmm, I miss it so!

And I just remembered another one -- oven-baked apples! I think those can be made in the microwave too, I'm not sure. But basically you just [carefully] cut out the center leaving the rest of the apple intact, bake it (it takes quite a long time), and enjoy.

Oooooo memoriiieeeez. Such a happy childhood. smile  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 3 WEIGH-IN

Starting: 140.5 lbs
Now: 140 lbs

Okay, so I lost half a pound from last week but overall it's still a net gain. I haven't really been following my rules as I should, though. Why did I even put them up there? =C

I'm thinking of actually having a vegetable salad for breakfast. Get it all in one go and be set for the day. =)

I'm going on a trip with my dad next week. We might do some hiking (but mostly traveling by car) and in the interest of saving money we're sleeping in a tent. A week max, but I expect around five days. It'll be fun but I think I'll be happy to get home and sleep on a mattress again when it's over, ha. We had a really great hike last year, except the part where I got a tick (apparently they're anarchids and not insects like I previously thought -- I'm sooo glad I didn't know that back then).  

[Sunsway]

WEEK 3 DAY 4 -- TUESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2010

Today was pretty good. Some running, a whole lot of studying, and I tried a new vegan substitute for a meat patty (like a sandwich thing) made of lentils and that was pretty good. These things are expensive but they're delicious. I don't like the way red meat tastes and feels (bleh), so these vegan things are pretty awesome in comparison.

So. A good day food-wise and exercise-wise. smile  

[Sunsway]

BACK FROM MY VACATION!

I spent all 6 nights in a tent -- that really saves a lot of money. Accommodation in Australia is expeeeensive. People in the US -- you are so lucky. Anyway, it was actually pretty fun -- it was only two days without a shower, and the other times we stayed in caravan parks which provided that.

Highlights:
- There was a canyon with some amazing hiking. It wasn't just walking, there was a very satisfying amount of work involved with descending down to the river and then climbing back up again. My favorite day.

- We saw some wild ospreys! It's one thing to see these birds on TV, and it's completely different to see them in the wilderness. Their voices are so beautiful. Not like the birds we're used to with the chirping, but this raw throaty call. Like eagles. There was one high up in a nest watching over the chicks and then another one flew over, dropped them a fish, and perched on a branch some distance away. And the one in the nest (I think that was the male -- the mama was bringing home the bacon) started feeding the chicks. Sooo amazing. I should definitely take up birdwatching. Maybe get a secondhand SLR camera or something -- or at least a normal one with superzoom.

And I lost 2 pounds during that time. Honestly, I had thought I lost more -- I was feeling pretty skinny. smile But nah, I'm happy with that. Losing any more in one week would be trudging into the unhealthy side.

So, in a nutshell: vacation was awesome.