Losing by Learning (A Julie and Julia Parody)

[en-pointe off-balance]

My name's Natalie. I weigh 192.8 lbs at this very moment. By the end of this year, I hope to weight around 140 - so losing about 1 lb per week.

So here's my game plan. I'm going to the mall today, and I'm going to buy a cookbook. It needs to have enough different recipes that I could cook something different every day (not always for dinner, either. lunches and breakfasts, too.) Something comprehensive, with lots of different recipes, but everything has to be healthy. Optimally, I'd like for the book to tell me the number of calories per serving, because I'll be calorie counting.

Starting tomorrow, I'll cook one recipe per day. This will definitely help me because one of my main problems is coming home from school and having high-calorie, microwaveable foods that are chock full of preservatives and salt and nastiness (I'm looking at you, Ramen). I would be better off having an apple or some fruit as an afterschool snack, then spending a bit of time actually cooking my own meal from scratch. That way I can also control the size of my portion, so I'm not stuck feeling like I have to eat "the whole package" when I'm not terribly hungry.

Also, I need to get into exercising. I'll start by doing simple things at home like sit ups and squats and such, but when I go back to Geneva - I'm currently in high school in Switzerland with my parents - I'll be walking to the store a lot and doing a lot of chores around the house, all by myself. (There's another piece to this learning theme. Learning to do my own laundry. Oye.)

Good luck, self.

Current Weight: 192.8
Goal: 140

 

[en-pointe off-balance]

Well, yesterday did not go according to plan.

First of all I never made it to the mall. Some of my friends came over, then more friends, and then we were all sitting around playing L4D2. Then we walked to the park and played Volcano. Then we went back to my house and played Candyland. Then we played that game from Inglorious Basterds with the cards, and ate pizza.

And in the course of all that I threw up about four times.

I was given a medication from my doctor to help clear up my skin, and one of the side effects was nausea, which I understood to be "the sensation of feeling like you might throw up", not "vomiting everything you eat within an hour of consuming it". And I was wrong.

So the only thing that stayed in my stomach from yesterday was pizza. I also had carrots and broccoli and an orange for lunch, and soup for breakfast, but they didnt exactly hang around for too long.

As a result, I haven't the slightest idea how many calories I consumed yesterday..

Oh, and I had cold pizza for breakfast. D'oh.

Current Weight: 191.6
Goal Weight: 140

 

[Anbaachan]

Probably time to call your doctor and get new meds. That's not healthy for you to be getting that sick.

Try again tomorrow. I think this is a cute idea though. Good Luck!

Check out these cookbooks:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking Made Light
Cooking Light Way to Cook
Mom-A-Licious
So Easy


I figured at least you could go into the store with a couple cook books that looked promising. I tried looking for books that allowed you to have quick results but looked like lots of variety. I'm not thinking I might need to check some of these out myself. XD Let us know what you picked up when you start!

 

[en-pointe off-balance]

...I do not have an excuse prepared. Uh. I forgot, mostly. I haven't been sticking to my original plan, I haven't bought a cookbook, I haven't learned to do laundry, and I certainly haven't lost a pound per week.

I have, of late, however, started a bit of a diet. That is to say, I went on a very long plane ride, became ill, and now whenever I smell cooked food, oil, grease, or any strong, generally food-related smell, I feel sick. So lets see...I went to the doctor on Monday about my finger (I slammed it in a car door, and was worried it might be broken) and I was 197lbs, and I weighed myself just now as I got out of the shower and I was about 187.

Not so say I enjoy being sick or anything, but I don't mind this 'perk'. And I'm still eating... Fresh fruit and vegetables, and cheese or pieces of ham when I can stomach it. And bread, sometimes. But I eat smaller portions and more infrequently, and I am surprisingly not hungry, like, at all. My appetite got left behind on the plane on Wednesday.

So my plan from here is to keep eating fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, and ham, until I feel better. Then maybe I'll keep with my reduced variety diet for a while, up the portion size a bit when my hunger returns. And I want to start jogging/running/something consistently. I have one of those machines, the elliptical trainer things, and I think maybe I'll start doing that like 20 minutes a day.

{I went to a nutritionist, by the by, and she was telling me about what kind of exercise and how much I should do in order to lose weight. Apparently I should be trying for about 150 minutes a week of light-moderate activity, anything from swimming to walking, and it has to be 10+ minutes at a time for it to "count".}

So today, I had a carrot, an apple, a tangerine, a piece of cheese, two piece of brushetta, and a rockstar energy drink.

Well, all caught up now I suppose. I'm going to get some shut eye.

Current Weight: 187
Goal Weight: 140

 

[en-pointe off-balance]

Anbaachan

Probably time to call your doctor and get new meds. That's not healthy for you to be getting that sick.

Try again tomorrow. I think this is a cute idea though. Good Luck!

Check out these cookbooks:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking Made Light
Cooking Light Way to Cook
Mom-A-Licious
So Easy


I figured at least you could go into the store with a couple cook books that looked promising. I tried looking for books that allowed you to have quick results but looked like lots of variety. I'm not thinking I might need to check some of these out myself. XD Let us know what you picked up when you start!

Thank you so much! I do want to pick up a cookbook and get back to doing what I set out to do... But I don't know when I'll have time to cook, between school and rehearsal and such. Maybe summer... Or I could just do it on Saturday and Sunday? When I feel better I'll look into options.

 

[Stars in my Pocket]

1. L4D2 is amazing. I appreciate a fellow survivor.
2. Cookbook is motivational but not necessary at all - if you have net access, you have a free cookbook with infinite recipes. (:

Good luck on your goals! I'm sure you'll make it if you're diligent from here on out! It's very doable, and I do wish you the best <3 <3  

[en-pointe off-balance]

Ate 3/4 of a bowl of rice, plantain, and chicken soup tonight, and didn't get sick, so kudos to me. I need to get more fiber into this limited variety diet. I should start eating whole wheat bread.

Also I want to cut energy drinks and sodas entirely out of my diet. Coffee and tea, fine, but the absurdly sugary bullshit has to end.

Tomorrow after school I think I'll start my work out program. I've got a link to a video on youtube of ab work outs, so I'll do that in the evening, and try to get 15-30 minutes in on the elliptical.

My dad had noticed that I'd lost a little weight. His compliment was like... heroin, I dunno, it was the best feeling ever. Thats the motivation I need. Having girls tell me "You're fine the way you are, you don't need to lose weight" doesn't help. Having my mom or my doctor say "It would be healthier if you lost weight, your BMI is too high, etc..." doesn't help.

So YAY ME.

Current Weight: Dunno, didn't weigh myself tonight.
Goal Weight: 140

 

[BitterFantasy]

how tall are you?cookbooks..hmm..interesting. i dont cook. since im at college im stuck with a meal plan.wish i could help with that though.good luck. you can do it!  

[lavender opheliac]

you seem to be doing so well!

yeah, how tall are you?

i'm envious. you're doing great!  

[phloid]

Hey, I started on Jan 03 at 192lbs
We're really close!
You seem to be getting there
though you need to post more posts when you're not so sick so I don't have to feel so concerned about you, hahah d;

You must DEFINITELY cut out energy drinks,
ouff, those things are awful! > >

and congrats on your dad noticing you weight loss
it's a great feeling, and it'll give you excellent motivation to keep this going and going, getting more compliments (;


good luck keeping it up !
^ ^
 

[Roslin]

Compliments are always nice! I find that family is more apt to mention your weight loss than your friends. I know my friends never even mentioned that I looked different until I had lost like 60 pounds x_x I think there is some unspoken rule that girls don't mention eachothers weight loss unless it's to mention how you don't need to lose weight.  

[en-pointe off-balance]

Wow, thanks for all the comments and support guys! : D This helps too, it keeps me on track, knowing that people are reading these things gives me someone to be accountable to. Y'know? Like "I can't eat these cookies.. I mean I COULD but that would mess up my weightloss and then I'd have to report that I'd gained. ):"

I'm 5'6", ish, for the record. And I'll definitely try posting more often now that I'm not sick... Speaking of which, I was about to go work out, haha. (: It turns out the ellipitical tires me out faster than I thought it would, but I'm going to keep at it and hopefully doing it'll get easier.

Yeah, I dunno. I doubt my friends would ever say anything about my weightloss, since I never made a big deal out of it, or let them know I thought I needed to lose weight (since I know girls do as girls do, and they would probably tell me I didn't need to)... Oh well.

Yesterday and today were ok, not my best days but not terrible either. I think I want to stop eating the school lunch though, because the only edible served item is the pasta and eating a whole plate of pasta every single day probably contributed to my weight gain from last year. So I'll start buying or bringing sandwiches instead, I think.

Phasing out sodas has gone well (over the past. y'know. 2 days.), considering I'm the only person in my family who drinks energy drinks, and theres plenty of juice and tea available. So yaaay.

I'll weigh myself later tonight or in the morning, and add the new numbers to this post.

 

[themadwriter]

Good luck en-pointe! Getting rid of pop is a good first step and all the tea will really help too (I drink about a pot a day sweatdrop ) A good idea for lunches to take to school that have good portion control are bentos. You can experiment with putting all sorts of things in them so it's fun experimenting. You'll want to have a majority of it be rice or gluten free noodles with the other half being divided between veggies, fruit, and protein. Good luck on your cooking!  

[en-pointe off-balance]

Thanks for the tip - bentos do sound like a good idea... I check justbento.com every now and again for recipes but I never bring my lunch in, because, well... My bento box is hello kitty themed. And I'm a sophomore. Ah well, maybe later this week I'll try it.

Whoooo, what a day. It's been good and bad. More bad than good. Lots of silly high school drama - "You like him? But he was my back up just in case the guy I like didn't like me back, and he doesn't!" - and at lunch, more pasta. Good pasta, but still. And the dessert was a donut. And uh. My friend. Gave me hers. So I had pasta. And two donuts. For lunch.

...Yeah, I feel retarded. But I went home, did the 8 Minute Abs video from the March Abs Challenge (I'm not an entrant, but that doesn't mean I don't want nice abs.) and did 10 minutes on the elliptical. So that was good. I'll try to do another 10 minutes before bed tonight, and maybe fix myself a small salad for dinner, if anything.

EDIT: Damnit, I caved and had Ramen! Damn it! Seriously, I wasn't even hungry, I just missed the taste. UGH OK. I'm not going to weigh myself for a couple of days and go back to eating just fruit and vegetables. Detox. Haha. Still no soda, so good going on that front... But UGH. I'm retarded. No more ramen.

 

[themadwriter]

First: you are not retarded. You made some decisions that probably weren't the best, but that's why you have tomorrow. Tomorrow you can always make healthier decisions and be able to do what's good for your body. I know it sounds cheesy, but for me thinking about that has really helped me pick me up when I make poor eating decisions.

Isn't Hello Kitty popular no matter what? I'm 23 and I've got a 400 page Hello Kitty coloring book for when I get uber stressed out. Also, being 23, my bento has a unicorn and a fairy on it. No shame in what you like! Hope tomorrow goes better for you dear.