I am still trying to find a better layout for this site. So far I’ve tried out 8 of them and none of them look the way I want it to. So I’ve reverted back to the old layout for now.
Today’s intake so far:
Breakfast: 1 cup of freshly-squeezed tangerine juice, 1 bowl of cheerios w/soy milk
Lunch: Vegetable soup (homemade), honey-flavored Greek yogurt
Vitamins
I don’t know what possessed me to go and buy a box of Cheerios, but I did yesterday. All I know is that I have to have soy milk instead of almond milk with it. I like almond milk, but it’s too nutty to fit in with some cereals. (I don’t drink regular milk).
Tangerines are a hassle to juice because there are tons of seeds in them. However, the end result is well worth it. It’s super delicious and refreshing.
I’m thinking about going on a strict 7-day veggie/soup/yogurt/fruit diet to try and jog the rest of this gained weight from me, and maybe jump-start additional weight loss. Despite what some people think, I don’t often do these type of fad “quick results” type of diets. Mostly because I have trouble sticking to them. But I’m in a very serious frame of mind and am 99% decided on doing it, starting tomorrow. Or actually starting today (not counting breakfast).
Anyway, if I proceed, tonight’s dinner is going to be more soup, some spinach and cucumber salad. Of course I’ll make sure to take all of my vitamins, as well as a ‘Greens and Whey’ protein powder mix I got at Whole Foods yesterday. I also bought some green tea. I actually love green tea, but rarely drink it.
Soup is especially good right now since it’s been freezing out. Last night’s wind chill got near zero. I went down to my car really late to get water out of my garage, and nearly keeled over from the bitterly cold wind. (I wasn’t wearing a jacket. Not smart. I have a super nice Calvin Klein coat/jacket and I hate wearing it because it’s so bulky). Reminded me of winters in New Hampshire (which I still miss fondly). Today/tonight is no better. For instance, right now it’s 28 out with a 17 wind chill. Tonight is going to be 14 and the wind chill may drop into the negatives. Brrrr.
Anyway, the salmon is still sitting in my fridge, untouched. I’ve been eating a vegetarian diet for six days now. The longer I go without fish, the less I want it. Actually truth be told I don’t want it at all except for the vitamins!
I decided on a whim to get on the scale today (even though I’d eaten several hours earlier and just had a glass of water). Imagine my surprise at seeing another pound gone… 2.5 pounds gone from the 6 or 7 I gained over the past few weeks. (Weight: 152). The strangest thing about this is that I probably had around 2800-3000 calories yesterday! Yep – I had some VERY high calorie foods. (I think I’m PMS’ing and just didn’t give a damn yesterday. I know, excuses, excuses, excuses).
I’d like to be down to 145 by the end of the year. I think it’s a feasible goal.
I’m glad you guys like the new layout. I didn’t create it or anything – I downloaded it from the Wordpress template site! I’m still not 100% sure I like it and it may change again. But we’ll see.
I have a theory about the weight gain and loss. But it’s a little too personal and TMI to share on here. Basically it involves BM’s. I’m sure you all get my drift. I’ll just say meat (even fish) doesn’t seem to move through like it should. Now that I’ve removed fish from my diet again, things are moving very smoothly and normally again. My stomach has gone back down to where it was before as well. (Yay!)
So we’ll see… because of this I want to stay away from fish for another few days and see what happens.
I sometimes think I’m one of the laziest people on the planet. Lately I’ve been unmotivated to do much of anything!
Not much to update. I still haven’t eaten any more fish. May have some tonight since I have some salmon in my fridge that needs eating.
So far I’ve only lost 1.6 of the 6 pounds I gained in the past month. I made a menu yesterday and the day before but didn’t stick to them. Today I’m not bothering to make one.
Sorry if this post is depressing. Truth be told I just have no ‘oomph’ these days. Hopefully I’ll snap out of it soon.
In other news, I have made the decision to go and see a nutritionist. I’ll update more about that later!
by Rian on December 6, 2009
in Updates
I have no idea why I’m up so early since I went to bed around 4am! Sheesh.
The good news is that the weird unexplainable pain is gone. So is the dizziness and lightheadedness, bloating and digestive issues. Gone completely. The only thing left is random coughing fits that seem to come up out of nowhere. And sneezing and blowing my nose. Nothing major though. I feel like my old ‘good’ self again.
I can’t help but wonder if the pain and unpleasantness was caused by all that fish I ate for several nights in a row? I’ve abstained from fish for the past two nights and plan to do so as well today. Maybe my body was protesting against the meat after being without so long, who knows… Another thing I didn’t mention prior is that for the first time in many, many months, my blood sugar started crashing late morning (a few hours after breakfast – right before lunch) earlier this week. Yes, I know, I sound like a hypochondriac. Whatever. But I have not had a blood sugar crash in so long I was shocked when it started happening again.
Anyway, that problem is gone as well.
Maybe I’m meant to be a vegetarian after all. I don’t know… all I do know is that I’ve decided to just consume sockeye salmon no more than twice a week, starting sometime next week. The benefits to my hair have been enormous. Already my old shiny, silky and manageable hair is back. Don’t know how it happened so fast, but my sister confirmed it: my hair is back to looking and feeling fabulous and healthy!
So I have today’s menu created in my mind. It really seems to help me stay on track when I plan what to eat for the day when I get up in the morning. Today’s menu:
- Breakfast (already eaten): plenty of fresh pineapple
- Lunch: 1 1/2 cups Ezekiel sprouted grain penne pasta with a low sodium pasta sauce (an imported brand from Italy which I get at Akin’s – it’s totally delicious!), as much vegetable soup as I want, and Greek yogurt. (I won’t eat the Greek yogurt if this runny nose business doesn’t clear up by lunch, however).
- Dinner: Cucumber salad, bowl of cooked spinach, 1 Gardenburger (tomato basil flavored) on a sprouted grain bun
Probably no snacks. Truth be told, I sometimes plan them out but rarely eat them. I like to go a few hours between eating.
Anyway… today is supposed to be chilly and rainy. I am going to head over to the mall and do some Christmas shopping and start looking for a digital camera. I’m looking forward to making videos and taking better photos.
I’ve rambled on long enough!
It’s Saturday night… I’m staying in tonight! It’s been so cold around here lately. Last night and the night before were somewhere around 19 degrees. Tonight it’s supposed to get down in the 20’s. Anyway, I’m hanging out at home doing laundry, watching TV and puttering around the apartment.
I had a couple people request to see my updated Christmas decorations. My living room is done, but my dining area is only half done.
Here are the pics!
My coffee table
Christmas Village (added a few things)
Patio doors
My end table (I purposely blurred the pic of my niece for privacy reasons)
I’ve decided I have had it with my camera phone. I’m going out tomorrow to buy a new digital camera. Nothing fancy, but something that takes decent photos and videos!
In other news, I’ve been feeling better throughout the day. So far all I’ve had to eat today is some veggie soup, some pineapple, and a couple servings of that sprouted whole grain pasta. I’ve found if you add the teeniest bit of olive oil while it’s cooking, it tastes even better! And I’ve had at least 4 tall glasses of water. Not sure what dinner is yet. Maybe more soup.
Something is wrong. I’ve been in unexplainable body pain for the past few days, along with dehydration symptoms and digestive woes, none of which I’ve chosen to mention on here until now.
The pain was in my legs and thighs for the past few days and has now moved up to my back and intensified.
No fever or anything.
I wonder what could be the matter?
Anyway, yesterday was good in terms of food. I basically stuck to my plans on eating – didn’t have fish, but had some pasta for dinner. Once again the vinegar cucumber salad helped my appetite so I didn’t overeat.
I ended up having about 20 Pringle chips last night though… I doubt it added too many more calories on. I’m more concerned about the MSG and trans fat in them than the calories though.
I’ve decided to stay away from fish for a few days. I am not sure why but I think I’ve already lost my taste for it. I’m going to stick with vegetarian dinners for now but stay away from the greasy fattening stuff. We’ll see how it goes!
Later Update: I took 2 advil a while ago and already feel better. I forgot to mention above that doing some yoga moves helped my calves and legs feel a little better last night before I went to bed, especially the ‘downward facing dog’ position. Not sure why!
TGIF! Here’s what I worked on last night:
I’m nearly done with it – just have a couple of finishing touches to add on. I love Christmas!
Yesterday was a very good day food-wise. I ate very lightly for a change and really enjoyed it. I had: two pears for breakfast; a honey-flavored Greek yogurt, scrambled eggs and a mixed greens salad w/a little Caesar dressing for lunch; and a cucumber, tomato and red pepper salad plus about 5 ounces of sockeye salmon for dinner. Whoever said vinegar takes away the appetite is right! I got a yummy salad recipe that uses white vinegar from cooks.com. (Love that site). Anyway, I ate the salad first and it really took away my appetite to the extent that I couldn’t finish my salmon! Lastly, I had 2 glasses of organic chardonnay while decorating the tree.
So far today I’ve eaten a six-ounce container of organic blueberries for breakfast. I’ll probably have a red apple and a teaspoon or two of pumpkin seeds for a snack in a little while. I have a pot of my homemade vegetable soup simmering on the stove, which I plan to have for lunch along with yogurt. I’m not having fish for dinner tonight. Instead, I’ve decided to have a small portion of sprouted whole grain pasta (the Ezekiel brand). That’s the only pasta I have no desire to overeat.
Anyway, I’m planning to stay on this ‘light’ eating trend for a few days longer in order to re-take off the 6 or so pounds I’ve gained back over the course of the last few weeks. (No lectures on nutrition or calorie consumption please, I already know). 
Today’s exercise will be yoga (I’m actually in the mood to start it back up) and walking around the mall – I’m going to start my Christmas shopping this afternoon. There’s a gym I want to sign up for and I may do that later today as well. I know I really need to get back into regular exercise.
Tonight I’m planning to hang out with my sister and niece. We were supposed to hang out last night but we postponed it for tonight instead. I’m not sure yet what we will do but it won’t involve food!
I’ve been eating fish nearly every single night, mostly because I crave it every night now. Perhaps my body is so excited I’m eating it again that it’s demanding more and more? I’ve had different kinds of fish – not just sockeye salmon, but also breaded white fish like halibut and cod. (All of it wild caught and from Whole Foods, if that means anything).
And… I got on the scale yesterday and I’ve gained 2 more pounds. (Can’t bring myself to update the sidebar weight!) WTF?
I suspect the breaded fish is the blame for my weight gain. This cannot go on! So it’s either back to being a veggie for a bit and see if that takes care of the weight gain, or back to just baked sockeye salmon a few times a week. I haven’t decided. I know one isn’t supposed to be eating fish every night but I’ve been enjoying it so much…
I’ve also been feeling sluggish and lazy this week. Haven’t done any yoga or exercise. Last night, however, I managed to set up some Christmas decorations around my apartment. I’m nowhere near done yet though! So far I’ve just set up a little miniature Christmas town/city, complete with miniature trees, people, a Victoria house, a church and trading post. Plus I put out some candles and cinnamon-scented potpourri.
Here are some pictures of my decorations so far (keep in mind, they are nowhere near done), plus the mess that is taking over my dining area:
My coffee table
Christmas Town
Dining area mess
I really need to find my camera… it’s been lost since I moved into this new place. My blackberry takes awful photos.
Anyway, I’ll be doing some cleaning up today since I have family coming over tonight. I’m also going to buy a Christmas tree (fake) and will be setting it up later. I’ll take more photos when the rest of the decorations are up.
In other news… I’m in the beginning stages of making a decision on what pets to get. I’m 32 and single and dammit, I need some animals around. I mentioned a couple months ago that this place I live now allows up to 3 dogs or cats – even big dogs. The problem is that I can’t decide whether to get a puppy, or puppies, or a kitten, or kitties, or both. I know that if I want a dog and cat to get along, they will probably need to ‘grow up’ together. However, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to get a puppy because the house-training will be a nightmare. (My sister is still going through it 5 months after getting her puppy). They pee (and more!) all over the place. I have new living room furniture here and new carpeting, so I don’t want to get it all mucked up.
So I’m considering getting a grown-up house-trained dog from a rescue organization. I’m involved with a couple of them locally so I may just go that route. Or just settle with cats – which are easy. Right now I’m leaning towards getting two kittens and starting from there.
I also want a pet mouse. (Yes, you read that right). But I probably won’t get one. Especially not if I get cats.
On a totally different subject, I’ve gotten a couple of rude emails from people about the website. (Not this one, but The Skinny). I used to respond kindly to all emails – mean or otherwise – but lately I just haven’t had the patience. So I responded rudely back to them. Imagine my surprise when both recipients were upset that I was rude back to them.
So… let me get this straight. I’m supposed to take their rudeness but I can’t respond in kind? What kind of world are we living in? I think I’ve gotten to that age where I just don’t care anymore what people think.
Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough. I had two pears for breakfast this morning plus a glass of lemon and cucumber-infused water (homemade, of course). Yum. Lunch is probably going to be salad, yogurt and soup. I don’t know about dinner yet, but I’m going to keep it light. No more breaded fish for me, that’s for sure!
I deleted my “clarifications” post because frankly, I do not need to clarify or rationalize what I am eating to anyone. Including myself!
There are lots of people with different opinions, and many don’t understand. And many of you do. I admit that I rarely post my daily intake, so people are likely confused about what I eat on a daily basis. That’s OK, I am done explaining, rationalizing and clarifying. This probably sounds bad, but I don’t care what other people think anymore. That’s one reason I’ve kind of let this blog languish lately. I sometimes think I made a mistake in publicizing something that is very personal to me (diet and health matters).
But I will say this, in closing for the matter of my new-found Pescetarianism: I tried very, very, VERY hard to go eat ethically. Raw vegan. Fruitarian. Strict vegetarian. Lacto-ovo vegetarian. And I’ve thrown in the towel for the time being. My body wasn’t getting what it needed. It screamed a loud protest at me nearly every night and it got to the point that I could no longer handle it. I’m a human being who doesn’t enjoy being miserable, I’ll admit that. I never had such cravings in my life before going vegetarian.
I know right now I am doing the right thing. Perhaps it will change somewhere down the line, as for now this is an experiment.
Anyway, it’s probably fitting that I now have been coughing, sneezing and blowing my nose all night and have a raging headache. Not that I’m worried about it, mind you. I have been having symptoms like this on and off since getting the swine over a month ago. I know the symptoms will pass within a day.
But for now, I’m in pain and going to lay down!
By the way, I understand why many of you are disappointed with my choice. You have been successful in making me disappointed in myself as well. I know a lot of people read this and I would never want to influence someone NOT to go vegetarian or vegan. (But I think honesty is more important than sugar-coating.) Seriously – anyone who can do it, by all means, do it! I truly wish I could. My dream would be to live on a tropical island and be a full-on fruitarian. I will always remember my fruitarian days and the euphoria I experienced as a result of it fondly.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to leave your comments. I truly do appreciate all of them. I don’t mean anything rude with this post, but I wanted to let you all know that I probably won’t reply to comments about my eating habits anymore. And I may shut this blog down permanently, because I think I am tired of sharing such personal information on the internet!
