Lisa's journal

[somethingnew912]

Hi, I just joined and I thought I would start a journal because they seem to be the most inspirational and like a good way to keep yourself accountable. I am in college right now so I have gained the freshman 15, but I have been overweight since I was about 12. Two days ago I began my most recent attempt to lose weight. I have been going to the track and running the straights and walking the curves. It is depressing that I can barely do this without throwing up or hyperventilating. As of yesterday I could only do one mile of this. I have also been doing hand weights and a little pilates. Today I had a bad day with eating. Its hard to eat right in a cafeteria at a small college. For lunch I had a small quesadilla, mashed potatoes, ranch style beans, and a little granola. Total calories about 550. Then I went out shopping this afternoon and when we were out my friends were hungry so we decided to go to Panda Express. It had been about 3 1/2 hours since I had eaten lunch so I convinced myself that it would be okay for me to get food. I ended up getting kung pao chicken, fried rice, and an egg roll. I also had a diet soda. I didnt eat it all, so the calories probably came out to 600. I am hypoglycemic, so soon after this high carb midday meal, I was getting hungry again. So I had one of those new Kashi bars. They are pretty good, especially for having so much fiber and protein. So yeah that was my day today. I am thinking I will end up having a late dinner of yogurt, a cheese stick, and a nature valley granola bar. That will be 320 calories. Well I think that is it for today. I cant decide if I will work out today. I had a pretty hard workout yesterday and my legs are super sore. I will probably end up doing hand weights and maybe part of a tae bo workout.
Hope yall have a great day!
-- Lisa

Current weight/highest weight: 259
Goal weight for 7/01/06: 230
Goal weight: 130

[ehyatt]

You did good. Do you not like vegetables? I think if you incorporated some more veggies and fruits that you would feel fuller throughout the day. I am doing weight watchers and I have to get in 5 servings of fruit/veggies a day plus 2 dairy which usually ends up being a cheese stick or a yogurt. Keep it up!

[somethingnew912]

Yeah I do like vegetables, its just with the cafeteria food, the options are limited. I usually have green beans, brocolli, or a salad with every meal. Its just on Saturdays and Sundays they dont give as many options. Thanks for being the first to give me some feedback

[Trying4Thin]

Hi Lisa!

You have joined a great group of people here. We have all begun to change our lives for the better; sometimes with good days, sometimes with bad days. It sounds like you have the right attitude to turn your life around...Ah the freshman 15 (and then some). Colleges are no better than elementery schools when it comes to food choices. I noticed that they finally emptied the Mechanical Food and Snack Demon at my work. I hope they load it with fresh fruit and veggies (yeah right) or it is gone forever; never to haunt anyone else. What a fairy tale ending!
I like the idea of running the straights and walking the curves. Pretty soon you will be running the entire mile. Dont get down on yourself and your body. If you remember Aaron Semmel and Matt Hoover when they first began working out (both were former athletes) and both were throwing up on their first days. I suspect the others did too. Keep at it. Eventually your body will get with the program. Also, chug water with your workouts and that will help you stay hydrated and fight off the dizziness and nausea.
Is it possible to pack your own lunches? I had the same issue in college and as a result I gained a ton of weight. All my friends at the time ate poorly as well, so it was easier to justify my bad choices to myself. It is not uncommon. You may not be able to beat the cafeteria system, but you can play along with your own set of rules. If they have restaurants around, at least one of them must have something healthy. Try looking at menus over the internet for possible food choices that arent so threatening. It is really tough to say no to something when you can smell it.
Best of luck! Keep us posted on your progress!

~Carrie

[ehyatt]

I agree with Carrie, packing my own lunch has really helped me stay on track at school, (I am a teacher). I usually take lots of veggies like snap peas to snack on, cheese sticks, yogurt, oatmeal, sandwiches, now they have light potato chips (not baked) that are fat free and taste just like the real thing. Let me know if there is anything that we can do to help!

[Missy]

Packing a lunch has always seemed to work for me. That way, I have a whole bag of food that is good to eat instead of settling for something that isn't good for me.

I'm glad you joined us here on the boards! I always like meeting new people who are on the same journey as myself. Keep up the good work!

[helena]

Hi there Lisa!!
When i worked as a chef in a kitchen i used to take my own food, even though we were allowed to eat there, but because i knew how much fat i was using to make the food i knew i would never lose weight!!!!
It must be so hard trying to lose weight when you cant really control what is on the menu in the cafeteria!! you sound like you are managing alright though so keep up the good work!!

[muppet]

Hello Lisa-- welcome!
Well... I'm a dinosaur compared to a lot of you guys, but when I went to collage, and you lived in the dorms you had to buy a food service package. And the choices were terrible! Unless you were willin to eat a sandwich everyday. They had a salad bar too, but not very good. I remember the broccolli mush they used to serve! And I love broccolli-- cooked or raw -- but man oh man did they ever cook it! Bleeeck!
Do they still make you do that? I know they did it when I was in school, to reduce or limit cooking in the dorms
Anyway -- I know it's tough. Sounds like you are doing well, with the choices you have. Keep healthy snacks around, to make up for the lack of quality fruits and veggies the serve in the cafeteria. And, your exercise idea is great. Stick with it, and you will see improvement soon.
Nice to meet you Lisa. I hope we hear a lot more from you!
Carol

[somethingnew912]

Okay so yesterday was, according to my excuses, my relaxed diet day. For lunch I had pasta and a really small piece of cheesecake (when the cafeteria has cheesecake its reallllly hard to resist). That was probably about 500 calories. During the day I had about 10 fat free sour worms-about 120 calories. For dinner my school doesnt feed us on Sunday nights so I was on my own. Well since I had convinced myself that I was having a relaxed diet day and I had already screwed myself I went to Taco Bell for dinner. I had two chicken soft tacos, fiesta potatoes, and a caramel apple empanada (again I cant resist the sweets, its a problem). Later that night my friend came over and wanted to go get ice cream so.... I couldnt let her go alone so I accompanied her. We went to Sonic where I got a hot fudge sundae (its frozen yogurt right?). So yeah I had a reallllly bad day yesterday, plus I didnt get the chance to work out cause I was at my work study all day. I dont even want to think of how many calories it was total for the day. But as you can see I am the QUEEN of excuses. I told my friend that she needs to pretend that I am at fat camp and just NOT LET me eat bad stuff. Today was a lot better, though. For breakfast I had a yogurt and a Kashi bar for a total of 240 calories. For lunch I had sausage (the meat they offered for the day), broccolli, and rice with vegetables, im guessing about 350 calories. and for dinner I had sausage (again the only meat they offer for the day) broccolli, and mashed potatoes. I also had a couple bites of apple cobbler (I have come to terms with the fact that I am a sugar addict, I have a problem). Total that is probably about 500 calories. Also for a midday snack I had a nature valley granola bar - 180 calories. soooo total that is 1270 i think. not too bad, but I could have done better. For exercise I went to the track. I actually made it around a straight and a curve twice today, I was pretty impressed. After that I was exhausted so I just did one straight every lap running. Total it was 6 laps. Then I came back and used my new hand weights (they are pretty nifty) and did an arm workout and 150 crunches. So yeah that was my day....thanks for reading.
Lisa

[somethingnew912]

oh and yeah i totally agree with packing the lunch, its just hard because we only have a tiny refridgerator. I have started eating breakfast in my room though, that way I dont have to be tempted by the french toast, biscuits, and belgian waffles....