Oh dear me, I am incredibly appreciate of all of your support, tips, well wishes, etc on my weight loss post yesterday. For weeks I’ve been humming and hawing about if to post, what to post, if I should share before pictures. Like I said, it was incredibly scary for me to share those pictures so thank you for being so kind to me.
Can you honestly believe it’s August today? I couldn’t, where did July go? Oh yesssssss at the library. That’s about where August is going to go too. I am going to be hitting the books every day from today until August 19th. (Literally everyday, even at the cottage.) But this time I’m not going to let the studying take priority over my health goals. Seriously keep me to it. I still need to make time to eat well, get my workouts in, get up and off my butt often, and get some sleep. Otherwise I’m never going to see a change this month.
Here were yesterday’s efforts:
- get over 10,000 steps – CHECK
- journal my food – CHECK
Already in two days of food journaling I’ve become more mindful. It’s not like I want to write down that I ate a muffin at Starbucks because I failed to pack enough snacks for school (which had become almost routine on Tuesdays). After school last night I headed over to see some friends for a few drinks. Usually I would have a few drinks. Why not? It’s summer, we’re on the porch. But I only had one beer.
I’m sure some of you guys are thinking “have NO beer.” True that was an option. But I don’t foresee myself overhauling EVERY single calorie choice. Maybe it will come to that in the future in my weight loss efforts. For now I’m just concentrating on making better choices. One beer is better than three beers. In a month’s time, those choices will add up.
I was super hungry when I got home last night. Usually if I’m starving I have crackers and peanut butter or crackers and cheese. (Having dairy for bed makes me so sick so I have no idea why I do it.) Last night I made two scrambled eggs with nutritional yeast and cayenne pepper and had some grapes on the side.
- train / gym time – CHECK
I can’t think of another Tuesday that I’ve been to the gym this semester. It is my longest day with nine hours of classes. Yesterday morning I jumped on my bike and headed over for a quick 45 minute session. I did 15 minutes of cardio, 20 of core work, 10 of stretching. Glad I did it!
Alright, so this was a super ramble-y post wasn’t it? All of my thoughts on weight loss right now are swirling around in my head with no structure (GASP!) and I’m just spewing them out. Bear with me y’all 
Snacking at night? Do you do it, what do you eat?
Hey there!
I am a vegetarian and getting tested for Celiac soon… so eating is hard enough let alone the midnight snacks! My boyfriend got my hooked on this: 1tbsp peanut butter and 1/2-1 scoop of protein. Heat up in the microwave (15-30 seconds) and add a bit of water… then stir, stir, stir!! Tastes delicious, it is super filling and packed with protein and healthy fats!
This sounds so good!
I will share on here as well as facebook, scrambled eggs is great, but keep some whites on hand, no sugars that way. but its filling none the less.
It depends, for a while I was snacking at bedtime for comfort reasons & not because I was truly hungry. I’m trying to be more mindful of why I’m eating. A lot of the time I use food as a distraction/comfort. I find myself craving things like toast/butter or cereal, which was a common bedtime snack as a kid. Maybe I should see a shrink?! Haha
that’s what happens when I stay up late studying – most of the time I’m not sure I’m even hungry – love toast and butter at any time of the day mmmmm
I’m 100% with you on not completely overhauling right away. Any kind of habit, including ones related to eating, take time to break and change. Trying to drastically change my diet too quickly has only lead to me getting bored and resentful in the past. Baby steps, girl – you’re gonna do great
thanks Sara
yeah I suck when I jump in too far and too fast
That’s awesome! I love my wine and have trouble limiting my intake – especially in France!!
if/when I go to France I’m going to brush my teeth with wine, put it in my water bottle when I go for a run, etc. etc
You should do the Medoc Marathon! There’s wine pit stops along the way
Sounds like you’re off to an excellent start !! Nice job getting a solid gym session in on your busiest day. I know what it’s like having 9 hours of class. Getting in a short workout before you’re even awake a) gets it done, and b) energizes you for the long day.
Snacking at night… definitely my weakness. I try to keep it light after dinner, nothing that will weigh me down or make me feel lousy in the morning. Sometimes fruit, which is usually very filling and I won’t have too much of. Another great option if you’re just in the HABIT of nibbling but aren’t actually hungry is seaweed. It’s incredibly low-calorie and good for you. You can get seaweed sheets (like for sushi) OR both Trader Joe’s and “Sea Snax” have little packages of salted seaweed squares, sometimes flavored. It’s just something a little crunchy to munch on.
I CANNOT believe it is August, scary how time flies. Yes I snack at night – IF I’m hungry. And usually I go for something sweet (toast + honey, couple almonds + 1tsp almond butter, yogurt + berries) since I’m a sweet tooth person. I don’t like eating anything too big, since being too hungry going to bed keeps me awake and gives me reflux.
)
There’s no evidence to suggest snacking at night causes weight gain! It’s just most people who snack at night are eating mindlessly while watching TV. And for some people it’s just a good time to not eat. (That’s my “professional” opinion as a dietitian
yeah my nighttime snacking can be pretty mindless, I just put, for example, a box of crackers beside the computer as I study and before I know it, I’ve finished the box
I usually have a little greek yogurt at night. It feels like a dessert and when I’ve had “dessert” I feel like I’m satisfied for the day. Wishing you the best this August!
thanks Katie
Yesss! It’s all about being mindful. Myfitnesspal has been my food journal and it really does make me think twice about overeating/overdrinking.
yes the drinking part is the problem for me in the summer, stupid beer
I’m fortunate to have like zero tolerance right now after a year of being pregnant/heavy nursing…..so half a beer is about the most I can handle without getting a hangover. I CAN handle almost two glasses of wine though which is dangerous!
well I raise my glass to YOU hot mama
everything in moderation!!! even dieting!
One of my favorite night time snacks, especially in summer, is a smoothie. I just blend frozen fruit (berries, bananas), soy milk, and protein powder. If I want to chew on something, I add a little granola. Sometimes I make a bigger batch and freeze it in popsicle molds.
smoothie popsicles – brilliant!
I’ve never been much of a snacker. My downfall is usually that I eat too much during meals.
Lifestyle changes definitely can lead to weight gain/loss. I also gained quite a bit when I was in grad school and then lost it when I figured out how to exercise and eat. My weight bounces around a bit depending on what’s happening in my life, but I’m armed with knowledge so I know how to deal with weight gain.
Elle – good to hear you figured out now to control it … I’m hoping I figure it out the same
The hard part was figuring out what I could live with. There are faster/more efficient/etc ways to reach the goals that I have, BUT I didn’t want to put in the amount of work and sacrifice that those methods required. I was miserable.
I may not lose fat nor gain muscle as quickly, but I actually live the life that I want to live. I’m much happier and I can actually stick to what I’m doing. That’s the important part.
YES … all of THAT ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
you just pulled the words right out of my mouth
now the hard part is merging the parts of my brain where one thinks I should already look like a super model after three days at this and the other side says “PIZZZAAAAAAAAA”
Great start!!!! I snacked on fresh cherries tonight but usually it is pretzels which I am trying to avoid. I am hoping to clean up my diet this month by participating in the #eatclean30 by Run to the finish. I also agree that 1 beer is better than 3, you have live a little!
Snacking on Mini Honey Graham Bears right now but I’m drinking water instead of beer tonight (’cause I already drank all the beer we had). I still can’t kick the night time snacking habit, when you figure it out will you share your secret with me?
hahaha deal – although I’m always hungry when I get home from last classes so I don’t know how to change that!!!
Im a bad salt person (READ you may not wanna be me!!) I LOVE pistachios at night.
LOVE.
and yes.
I wake up dehydrated
yes salt is my achilles heel!!!
sometimes I wake up so dehydrated from salty snacking (or pizza, mmm pizza) that it feels like I’ve drank a case of beer!
I hate going to bed hungry – flat our refuse to do it. Usually I want something sweet, so I try to go for cottage cheese and fruit or greek yogurt – I can make it sweet and I like to try to make my snacks protein-rich at night. Or if I’m not feeling that, a chocolate vitatop with some peanut butter usually does it.
cottage cheeeeesssssse you say – I know people are SO into it but it’s never floated my boat
Definitely a night snacker! Not sure if it’s totally great for me, but I can’t help it. Plus, we usually don’t eat until 8pm, so I usually get hungry for a snack or little dessert around 11pm before I go to sleep. I have crackers and cheese sometimes, too. Or applesauce!
I can eat as early as 4:45pm sooooo I pretty much HAVE to snack don’t I? (say yes say yessssssss!)
Haha yes yes yesssss, of course you have to!