Things I did today

It's challenging, just not in the way I expected. I assumed I'd be lamenting the loss of post holiday chocolates and planning out some decadent sugary smorgasbord for the first of February. But, I'm not. Granted, I am going to a dessert place after I go have dinner on February 1st, but I'm not looking to eat as much sugar as I can. And the thing I miss the most? Cereal with milk. Not super sugary cereal, but low and medium amounts of sugar, with a fair amount of oats. Or corn and rice, in the form of Crispix. I miss just being able to eat whatever wheat bread or roll at a restaurant and not having to figure out if it's allowed on my diet. I won't be going to the grocery store and buying candy or cookies or ice cream. But crackers that have 2 or 3 grams of added sugar per serving - those types of things I would like to eat. I'm glad that I've gone through this exercise, because I certainly don't have the craving I had when I started the challeng...

Today, I just stuck with my chicken taco leftovers for food. Even though I ate a huge salad and drank two beers last night, I still lost another half pound. I'm feeling full after all the Mexican food, and I'd be surprised if I lost any more weight. I bought bananas and blueberries and have canned pineapple for times where I feel I want a little quick energy without needing added sugar. I still need to focus on my water intake. I drank a can of seltzer water, three cups of tea and two cups of decaf coffee. It feels like a lot! I've been thinking more about Atomic Habits in Chapter 2. From the summary: The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve, but on who you wish to become. I'd agree with that, though it's often difficult to change yourself drastically. I'd like to become a healthy, fit and patient person, who is a musician and photographer. Becoming the best version of yourself requires you to continuo...

Not too bad today, I ate more chicken tacos, split some breadsticks (sans dipping sauce) with a friend of mine, and ate a salad. I'm stuffed! I read Chapter 2 of James Clear's Atomic Habits. He discussed how change is easier when you associate your identity with a habit. I agree. I used to be 50 pounds over weight. I remember deciding that enough was enough, and I was going to lose the weight. After a rough start where I went a little extreme (lost 15 pounds in 2 months, was exhausted and gained it all back) I decided to make a more measured approach about how much I was going to exercise, and an easier approach about diet. Laura of that moment: No more sweets. I just don't eat them. I used to, I don't now. It made it much easier when making decisions about food in company meetings. If it wasn't low carb, I wasn't going to eat it. End of story. No "Well, if I just have half of it" or "I can do this now and not eat dinner", it was "If i...

Today was a rough day. I likely accidentally ate far fewer carbs on this diet than I usually do, so my medium intensity walk seemed like a never ending slog up some hills. I happened to have some canned pineapple in juice (not syrup) and some lefse and ate those (not together!) to get an added carb burst. I'm feeling much better, but still a bit sleepy. I've yet to eat dinner, which will be chicken tacos, leftover from last night. So far I've still not had added sugar except for the very small amount present in the oatmilk I use in coffee. While sweet things sound good, I'm staring at the crackers and chips in my pantry rather hard when I go for another glass of water. Aaaand I lost another pound. But, I finally ate enough yesterday to not wake up hungry today! I guess my new range of at least 1400 is good. I ate 1,491 calories and felt full, and was satisfied with just coffee for the morning. I think I'll make sure to add some fruit in my diet so I don't start ...

I have a problem that I think a lot of people do. Get excited about the idea of doing something, but not actually following through to the goal... and sometimes not even starting the idea. I've had plenty of ideas that I've not really followed through on, like: Properly learning how to play trombone Sticking with violin lessons past 3 months Practicing guitar for more than two months consecutively Consistently writing in a personal finance blog (I tried this one twice!) Learning more than the basics about my new camera... that I bought in December 2015 Finishing all the levels on Super Mario 64 Painting regularly, though I did paint regularly with my friends in college There are ideas that I never got off the ground, like: Starting a piano vlog Starting a blog about technical stock analysis Starting a blog about music composition Writing a book Writing a symphony Last night, I watched a few YouTube videos from Matt D'Avella, WheezyWaiter and NateObrien. It...

Today didn't quite go as planned - I was pulled in many directions at my job, between playing a Database Administrator role and a Project Manager role, did some analysis and code debugging, argued about the definition of "scheduled", and even logged in, in the evening to help with a full stack refresh issue for a half hour. After my workday was done (before the full stack refresh issue) I went to the gym and did all the exercises except for my PT exercises. Instead of doing two sets of 15 reps with a minute rest, I did two sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds between each set. While I think my legs can certainly increase either reps or weight, I think backing off on my arm exercises for a while is a good idea - 10 reps per set was a much better outcome. I think I was overworking my arms just because I feel like they're too wimpy! I'm sure they'll get there, with patience and consistency. After the gym, I was interested in clearing off my desk, backing up the da...

It's January 2nd, and things are looking good for my challenge so far. Today and yesterday, I've had coffee with oatmik, picadillo, carnitas, lefse, shrimp stew sans coconut milk, cafe latte, cheese, chicken noodle soup that has no added sugar and some peanuts. I put away all the chocolate gifts I received over the holidays so I wouldn't be tempted, seeing it in plain sight (or relatively plain sight when opening the cupboard.) Still in the fridge is more cheese, more shrimp stew, and some chicken enchiladas. In the pantry is soup and more peanuts. Plenty of food so I don't start making bad decisions. Yesterday's total calorie count was 1350. Today, I ate 1281 calories, so I'm still within range of 1200 - 1450 calories per day. I'm tracking my weight, but only occasionally. I'm at my proper weight already, and just need to do a bit of distribution. Since I won't be travelling, and the friends that I often socialize with wouldn't give me (too...

Went to the gym as usual, and did a lot of stretching and my PT exercises. The high ended up being 73 today, so I didn't want to spend a lot of time indoors. Tomorrow is my last day to complete my 30 day gym challenge! This January, I'll be doing the No (Obvious) Sugar Added challenge. I threw in 'obvious' because I didn't want to fuss about added sugar when I go out to eat - I'll just pick items that I expect would not have sugar, like meats and vegetables. I won't order a cake while I'm out! But I'm not interested in bothering the waiter in case the salad dressing may have sugar in it. Technically, raw fruit has no added sugar. However, most fruit in January also has no added taste. I'm unsure if I'll be eating much fruit - I rarely eat that food group, though I should. Sounds like a different challenge for a different day. I downloaded MyFitnessPal again, with the thought that I MUST eat at least 1200 calories a day. If I don't, ...