Munky's Journey in Progress (Still at it...)

[Munkers]

On December 8, 2010 I started a new weight loss program. You can read about it here.

Goal is still tentatively in the 130 to 135 range.

Original Intro

I'm been debating a journal for awhile so today I decided to bite the bullet and take the plunge.

Vital statistics
Name: Munkers
Age: 24
Height: 5'6"
Starting/highest weight: 195lbs (BMI 31.5)
Current weight as of starting this journal on 5/25/10: 153lbs (BMI 24.7)

Goals
Tentative goal weight of 135lbs
26 inch waist
A firmer, curvier backside


How I'm getting there
I'm a Weight Watchers girl. Being a dirt poor college student until recently I haven't been attending meetings, but I do count points and it's been a far more positive experience for me than calorie counting. In the past I've also done the South Beach diet and lost my first 20 pounds that way.

 

[Munkers]

My Journey So Far: Brick Walls and Scary News

Like you hear from so many others, I've never been a skinny girl. I hit puberty on the young side of normal and my chest developed pretty quickly. By high school I had the hips and butt to match. I enjoyed being curvy, but I was also carrying around more weight than I should have been.

My freshman year of college I started taking a jazz dance class twice a week. It was a ton of fun and I noticed my body changing. Nothing dramatic like losing a pants size, but my abs were getting flatter and tighter and had some definition developing.

The following year I took a semester of tap and ballet--back-to-back classes twice a week. I though I'd look awesome, but those mirrors were telling a different story. The following semester I had course conflicts and that was the end of my dance days. I tried again and again to lose weight. Did a few rounds on SlimFast, tried good old fashioned calorie counting, back to the SlimFast--nothing worked. I was hungry all the time, cranky, hating my figure, and still not losing a damn pound.

Skip forward to my final semester of college. Shortly before Christmas I had decided something must be wrong. I should have seem some success with my past attempts and this just wasn't making sense. My mom had a history of thyroid issues so I went in to have myself screened. That landed me in the office of an endocrinologist the following January and one hell of a shock.

He listened to my story and took a history. He told me that I was right to think that there was something else going on because I really had been doing everything I should have. He diagnosed me as insulin resistant and told me that as I sat there that day, I had a 30% chance of developing diabetes.

Um... excuse me? Thirty percent?! But I'm healthy! Right? I mean... relatively?

I was scared and crushed. That was the last thing I had expected him to say. We talked about options. He offered me two possible prescriptions to help with weight loss which would in turn improve upon the insulin resistance. One option was an appetite suppressant and the other was a drug called metformin which dealt specifically with my insulin issues. I agreed to the metformin and he recommended I try an eating plan like South Beach. After some research of my own I decided that it wasn't the crazy fad I had always dismissed it as and I was willing to give it a try.

Four months later, I was 20lbs lighter. I was involved in my university's spring musical and the costumes that I had been measured for back in January were hanging off of me. Our director couldn't figure out what on earth was going on with the costumes until I let him on my secret after which he gave me a big congrats.

I got down to 170 and kept it off even after a last minute acceptance into nursing school, a crazy move across state, and trying to get my fiance out of his apartment lease so he could come join me. I had fallen off the diet wagon, but I was holding steady and that was a good thing.

A little less than a year later, I decided that I was ready to start losing weight again. I tried to go back to South Beach, but my body chemistry was so different that I couldn't get through Phase 1 anymore without headaches and feeling awful. After a brief struggle with plain calorie counting and discovering that it does some awful things to my attitudes with food, I did some research into Weight Watchers and found it was a much better fit for me.

I was able to get down to 158 before the craziness of exit exams and wedding planning got to me. I yo-yo'd a bit between 160 and 165 and was squishier than I would have liked to have been coming wedding day, but I can look at my pictures and feel happy.

Now I'm back on the wagon and once more and finally started to feel at least a little bit proud of what I've done.  

[Lainauriel]

Hi!
Really nice to start your own journal!
Ill keep to my thread haha biggrin
BTW great story! And good luck smile  

[Munkers]

Thanks Lainauriel!  

[Stars in my Pocket]

Wow, sounds like a lot happened in such a short amount of time, with the school, move, etc. Congratulations for being able to maintain even in such a hectic time, I know that many people turn to food in stressful times (even if it's good stress!) and I'm really impressed that you were able to hold strong!

Please feel free to PM or drop by my journal if you ever need anything, or just want to talk. (:  

[Euthanasia Phase]

Sweet, a fellow Weight Watchers participant! biggrin
Also, what you've written, in addition to being very inspirational, demonstrates that health really is the number one reason to lose weight. Not that your weight necessarily caused the insulin issues, but excess body fat exacerbates so many health problems and it's good to see someone who places high priority on being healthier.  

[Munkers]

Thank you everyone for the support. It can get really frustrating sometimes when you're spending time with others and you're the only one watching what you put into your mouth. Having people who understand helps ease that feeling.

@Stars~ I'm amazed myself, truth be told. xd Really happy and glad for it, but amazed nonetheless.

@Hysterisches Zyanid~ In retrospect, I can see the signs that there was something going on. The insulin resistance explains the slow creep up in weight and as I got heavier, the problem just got worse. With some of that weight gone now, there's definitely a difference in how my body reacts to food and functions in general. Even the "buffalo hump" is gone. (People with insulin resistance develop a knot/bump at the base of their neck. I had always thought it was because I carry my stress in my shoulders, but it never went away even with massage. But that sucker's gone now and I'm so happy about it.)  

[Munkers]

Weekend Happenings

I'm going camping with a few of my friends from college. Two of them I haven't seen since my wedding and one I haven't seen in forever since we've been living on opposite ends of the state since graduation and she wasn't able to travel for the wedding. There's also a Ren Faire going on near where we'll be camping so we'll be spending one of our days there. I'm really happy that I'll get to see everyone, but I've also been crazy anxious over what I'll be eating and how much damage I might do over the weekend.

One of my friends, Joe, has been a boy scout for more or less his entire life. Camping and backpacking is basically a way of life for him and his brothers so he's handling cooking gear and all the food. On the one hand it's great because I'll have a weekend of free meals, but I am terrified at having so little control over what's going to be available. And when he messaged me to ask about my favorite kind of cookie and favorite chip/snackie stuff my anxiety just crept up a few more notches. It's sweet of him to cater to everyone's likes, but please tell me we'll have more than just junk food. gonk

I did find out that the drink mixes he's packing are sugar free and 5 calories or less a serving. I can handle that and now I won't have to haul my own water with me. (There's drinking water available at the camp site, but there's no guarantee how tasty it's going to be.) My husband bought me an extra box of FiberOne bars so that I'll have a low points sweet. He offered to get me other stuff too so that I'd have several low point options, but I don't want to be neurotic about it or potentially insult or alienate anyone.

I know it's not the end of the world if I come back and find I haven't lost any weight or that I've gained a little back, but it really sucks to see the numbers on the scale go up. Cause I know that, now that I'm smaller, little extras add up faster because I just don't have the body mass to deal with it like I did before.

Hopefully I'll relax a little about everything once I'm off gallivanting around and causing trouble.  

[Stars in my Pocket]

I think that this is the battle everyone fights: humans are social creatures, and food is always, always involved. And unless you're hanging out with people trying to lose weight or on special diets, it's gonna be bad. x___x
The trick is to enjoy yourself, and let yourself be social and happy without going overboard. As you'll be there for a few days, it's inevitable that you'll be eating some bad food. What is under your control is how much/often you eat. But please don't fret about your weight so much while you're there (without letting yourself go), enjoy yourself and just be conservative with the eating.
You can always reverse the damage over the next week, just don't go crazy and think of it as a calorie-free-for-all. (:

You will be fine! Enjoy time with old friends! And the Ren Faire! That sounds so fun! whee  

[Munkers]

For now, my plan for when the junk comes out is to take a small handful, munch slowly, and wait before grabbing any more. If I only take a few at a time, I can extend my munching and still only take in a serving or two.

One thing in my favor, I think is that I'm not going to have anyone pressuring me to eat more. (At least I don't think...) I think it's the initial taking part that'll be more important/more noticed.  

[Munkers]

Return of the Munky

I arrived home from camping yesterday and weighed in this morning as it's my normal weigh-in day and I also wanted to see how much damage I'd done on the trip. Once we got out there and started talking/goofing around, I wasn't as concerned about food as I had been prior to the trip. I checked the nutrition label on the cereal box the first morning and that was about the end of it. Over the course of the trip I ate chips (though our lovely food wrangler did provide baked chips so it wasn't as bad), homemade cookies, a piece of apple cake (also homemade), was introduced to mead, and shared in a bottle of merlot that one of my friends had made herself.

Overall, I probably ate a bit less than I think I did because I was just grabbing a bite here or there rather than having a pile of food and then going back and getting a second pile. Our second night there we had a pork tenderloin over the fire and two batches of foil pack veggies which were amazing. I probably had close to half the veggies all by myself because no one else was eating that much of them. Not going to complain though because they were yummy! (And probably helped to deter excessive snacking later on.)

On to the actual damage.

I'm up just under 3.5lbs which didn't surprise me too much. What was surprising was when my scale claimed that my body fat percentage was down three points which, honestly, is kind of impossible to do in just three days. That tells that there's the possibility that all of the weight (maybe more?) is water weight. My scale measures body fat by measuring electrical impedance in the body. Muscle contains more water than fat which means it's a better conductor. The, in simplistic terms, more muscle and less fat means less resistance and a lower reported percentage. However, it also means that hydration affects your results. If I'm dehydrated, my scale will often claim my body fat went up even if my weight is done. (Since I'm fairly certain that I don't have any muscle wasting going on.)

So, for now, I'm blaming things on bloating. I drank a lot of fluids on the trip, but I was also sweating 24/7 in the 80 to 90 degree heat. So now I'm drinking drinking drinking to flush out my system. Also popped a diuretic since I do have that uncomfortable bloated feeling. I'll probably weigh in again tomorrow and the day after and then we'll see what happens from there. If the excess is gone by then I'll probably relax about the scale, but if it's not gone, I'll be keeping an eye on it.  

[Stars in my Pocket]

That's the best way to handle it! And quite honestly you cannot have eaten 12,250 calories more than you burn over the weekend unless you ate like two dozen big macs. So it's likely food/water weight in you.

Most junk food has less fiber in it, so you might want to up your fiber intake over the next few days as well as your water intake to flush everything out and return your weight to normal. 3nodding

I'm glad you had fun! And congrats on choosing the veggies, I know it's easy to stray when you're out with friends but it seems like you made pretty healthy choices. (:  

[Munkers]

Thankfully, I'm a fan of veggies in general and these were particularly tasty veggies. 3nodding And you're right, it is not even remotely possible for me to have consumed over 12,000 calories in excess of what my body needs. I... can't even imagine how much food that would be. That's actually enough calories for me to maintain my weight for a week or to continue losing for like a week and a half. eek  

[Munkers]

The Morning After

I didn't quite get back on the wagon yesterday since I was still entertaining a guest and had a surprise dinner visit from a friend. I didn't gorge myself by any means, but Steak 'n Shake just isn't a very diet friendly place. How does a cup of chili have so much fat in it when it's mostly beans and almost no meat?! gonk

Not too upset about things though. I realized before bed that I was already feeling lighter and less icky and as of this morning I'm down a full pound which means only 2.5lbs of camping weight to go.

The hubby treated me to Souper Salad for lunch which is always amazing. I love how much food I can eat there and still not spend that many points because it's mostly salad and wonderful low-cal/low-fat soups. My absolute favorite thing there is a vegan butterbean soup, but it wasn't on the menu today. I made due with a cup of minestrone which was still tasty, just not as wow-worthy as the butterbean. Even with bread, my meal was only worth 5 of the 22 points I get each day and I'm still fairly full even now.

I've been debating whether or not to make a concerted effort to consume the rest of my points today or if I'll just eat what I feel like and see what happens. I usually try to make myself consume all my points otherwise I tend to play the "how low can you go?" game which isn't good. It's becoming a more frequent occurrence though for me to have a handful of points leftover in the evening and not being particularly hungry, but making myself eat anyway. Not too happy with that arrangement either.

Since I'm getting closer to a lower weight bracket anyway, I've been debating just going ahead and stepping down to 21 points a day. It seems like my weight loss has been slowing down and maybe that point decrease would be a shove in the right direction.  

[Munkers]

Still Working on it

This morning I weighed in at 153.4lbs. Woohoo! Just about half a pound to get back to my pre-camping baseline. I still feel squishy and bloated though. I realized last night that I could tell a difference with my hipbones being more padded than before. My lower abdomen is a little tender as well which I discovered the hard way when my husband, Kent, tried to cuddle me. Ouch.

I actually did eat all of my points yesterday with the help of some leftovers. I had made manicotti on Monday when my friend was over and Kent hadn't polished it off like I thought. So it became my lunch. Overall they're not too fattening, but they were slightly higher on the points scale than what I usually eat during a meal. They were delicious though so I think I'll be tweaking it so I can afford to eat them more often. biggrin

I think I'm going to make up a big batch of beans and rice to munch on for the next few days. Kent's been on a rice kick lately and I just found a bag of pinto in the pantry and can't stop thinking about Mexican food now. Really wish they were kidney beans, but I can make do with these. At some point I'll drum up the courage to make my own refried beans.


And now, just because I'm so pleased with how they turned out, I'm going to share my manicotti recipe.


Pumpkin Ricotta Manicotti

Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup part skim, low fat, or fat free ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 oz dry manicotti, tubes or shells (This comes out to about 7 tubes in my brand)
1 cup tomato pasta sauce, any flavor
Seasoning to taste (recommended: salt, pepper, garlic and sage)
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan, optional for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven heats, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the manicotti according to package directions. When they're done, drain and allow to cool for several minutes. (You'll need to be able to pick them up.)

While the water boils, mix the pumpkin and ricotta together until all the lumps are gone. Season to taste (try 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sage). Once everything is smooth and incorporated, add the egg and mix well.

Spread a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce in the bottom of an 8x8" baking pan. This will prevent your manicotti from sticking to the bottom. (It doesn't have to be a thick layer and you may even still see the bottom of your pan in certain spots. Just get enough in there to barely cover.) Set aside pan.

If using shells, filling can be added in with a spoon. If using tubes, place filling into a zip top bag, seal, and then snip off a corner of the bag. Start filling from one side and then finish by piping into the other end. Place filled pasta in your baking dish and continue until all the pasta is filled. Top filled pasta with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese, if using.

Bake for thirty minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

Nutrition (using part skim ricotta and 1/2 cup parmesan):
Makes 7 tubes

Per one tube serving: 170 calories, 6g total fat, 19g carb, 2g fiber, and 8g protein. (4 WW points)



Next time, I'm planning to decrease the parm to 1/4 cup. I'm also considering increasing the pumpkin and decreasing the ricotta. The 1:1 ratio was still really cheesing and, honestly, felt like regular manicotti filling. Pumpkin puree is pretty creamy on its own so I think I up the amount with killing the texture.

Using 1 1/2 cup pumpkin and 1/2 ricotta along with the decreased parm would shave off about 35 calories and 2g of fat from each tube and bring the points down to 3. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm going to eat more than one of them, that little difference will add up quick. Using a reduced fat parm would probably make an even bigger difference.