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On this here blog, I thought it was just me rambling and sending stuff out there, mostly to keep myself accountable. I haven't commented on any other blogs with a link to this one because I'm scared shitless that they won't like me.

Then I saw this:

So... people are actually reading this blog? Or are those just some automatic internet search robots looking for places to spam?

If you are an actual person reading this, please comment! How/why did you come here? Share your story! Kthxbai.

Lemon Water

70.9kg. Wow! I did not see that coming. Certainly because I ate spaghetti leftovers yesterday. It was a small portion and I didn't put any cheese on it, but afterwards I did feel a bit bloated and was worried I would weigh in 1kg heavier. Apparently it went in the other direction. Yay! Moving right along.

I would like to talk about lemon water right now, if I  may. I've always been great with my water intake; drinking at least a glass of water first thing in the morning has been a habit of mine for the past few years and the rest of the day I spend sipping water constantly. I read somewhere online that lemon supposedly speeds up weight loss, so I decided to add it to my new routine along with calorie restriction. First thing in the morning I drink half a liter of water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice in it. I figured "Eh, if it's a myth at least I'm getting some vitamin C first thing in the morning. Can't be a bad thing."

from astropeep.com

Well, yesterday evening I started reading about in on line and apparently there's a whole story about drinking lemon water first thing in the morning. Just google "drinking lemon water" and you'll find a shitload of websites that praise this habit. They do talk mostly about drinking warm lemon water, but I'll bet a lot of the advantages are true for the cold(er) variant as well.

I am always skeptical of things that are praised into the high heavens, so I also googled "drinking lemon water myth". Interesting stuff too. This blog post gives some interesting critiques. Fortunately many of the hits I got there still claim it is a good idea to drink lemon water anyway.

I don't know if it's actually helping my weight loss or that it's merely a placebo thing or all in my head. Truth is that I am losing weight at a nice rate. I'm also starting to enjoy the taste of this lemon water. Our bodies are designed to enjoy a whole range of tastes. It seems most of us go for the sugary or fatty stuff. If you give other things a try though you might find your world is much broader than sugar alone.

In conclusion: Drink up and enjoy!

Why is it working this time around

Weigh-in update: 71.9. Woot! Diet wise, I had an excellent day yesterday. A bit low on the calorie intake I suppose, but I never felt hungry. The bloating probably masked it a bit. I drank a LOT of water, which probably solved that problem mostly. I also had an excellent evening run: 8.3km! I did it in a great time too, almost matching the time I clocked at my 8K race in December. The only thing that's missing is a good number two on the toilet, but I'm sure that 'll be here soon. I'm seriously feeling so much better this morning. I will not be scoffing down large quantities of food late in the evening. Hell no.

I've been wondering why this has been working so well for me this time around. Since having my son I've started dieting so many times I've lost count. Then clear out of the blue I decided enough was enough and got serious about it. I've even kept it up for three weeks now! What made the difference this time around? 

What's Working for Me, Now

We've all had at least one friend who used some amazing weight loss technique and lost a bunch of weight. Shakes, WW, prepackaged meals and so on. And then we think "Oh my that's great! I have to try that!"

The thing is, we are all so different! We have different lifestyles, different bodies, different exercise routines, different family and social lives. While I do think the simple basic equation is calories in vs calories out, the way to achieve that is not so simple at all. We need a hook, a method, something to hang onto. What method will work for you depends so heavily on the factors above, there is no one solution for all.

When I read about the newest diets I often shake my head: Cutting out carbs alltogether for instance,  what is that about? I love my carbs! I also need them in order to do a longer run (see above). Since Engineer Daddy is the chef of the house and he would never agree to cut out anything alltogether, it wouldn't work for me anyways. I don't want to start cooking separate meals for myself. Furthermore his cooking is delicious, so that wouldn't last long anyway.

I can shake my head all I want though, if it works for other people, that's awesome! More power to them. Clearly there must be something to it.

Timing is also important. Several years ago I did WW to lose a nice amount of weight (8kg). I was also pretty good about keeping it off until I got knocked up.While it worked beautifully back then, that doesn't necessarily mean it will work now. It was like 10 years ago. I'm older now and my lifestyle is so different. I got bored of the WW thing, clearly I needed to shake things up. Mission accomplished.

Cutting Myself Some Slack

During my previous attempts, there would (obviously) be bad days. When they happened, I would always feel tremendously guilty and think "Well I screwed it up anyway, I'm a fat pig and can just as well eat ALL the things!" Which I subsequently did. That's no longer the case now. When I eat something that wasn't planned, I take it and enjoy it without chastizing myself. I just count the calories and move on. I will simply tighten the belt a bit more the next day.

One Step At a Time

I started with a new exercise routine last year (running). Even though there was no diet and accompanying weight loss, I kept it up and enjoyed it. Adding the calorie counting a few weeks ago was a big step, but luckily I didn't have to start the exercise thing too, since it was already in my system. 

Progress Pictures

I had never done that before. It helped, actually. Seeing them next to each other last week was interesting. People around me are not noticing the weight loss yet, so I was wondering if there was any change at all in my body shape. Looking at those pictures, I can see there is. It's not massive but it's there.

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So here's hoping I can keep it up this time. I'm feeling fantastic and I don't want to give up that feeling.

Like a Balloon

Weight went up, as was expected: 72.9kg this morning.

Man it was a hectic weekend. I did stay in within my allowed calories AND I got my exercise (lots of bike riding). The main reason for the big number on the scale is the fact that I had my main meal very late yesterday: 8PM, after the kids went to bed. And it was quite a big portion of spaghetti. (No cheese, I don't need those extra kcals...) Result: I feel bloated as fuck. Tie me to a string and call me a balloon. I didn't even finish my fairly small portion of oatmeal this morning. After my bike ride to work I still don't feel hungry at all. My bowels are still working at full capacity to get everything processed. I'm sure a big number 2 is in my near future.

Did I used to eat like this all the time? Because I don't feel too good now. That'll certainly teach me to eat too much late in the evening. Ugh ugh ugh.

Back on the wagon today. I've got my whole day planned out: Healthy snacks, small dinner, evening run. Shitloads of water to get rid of this bloating. Avoid salt. I'm sure this extra weight will be gone by tomorrow.

Update after lunch: I just had a soup (chinese chicken broth). It was yummy but it filled me up so quickly I did not have any of the crackers I brought. Still feeling so stuffed and bloated. I hope this gets better while the day progresses.

Progress Pics Update - Finally

Since starting this blog... uhmmm... 9 months ago I finally have some progress pictures to share. At this moment I lost a little over 10lbs so I figure that's a good reason to look at the progress, if any.

Yes you read that right, another loss today. We are at 71.8kg at the moment. *Waits for applause.* This puts me firmly under the pre-pregnancy weight from ZwitsalBaby. 5.8kg to go until I'm at the weight I was before MiniMe and then another 2kg to goal weight. Somewhere in my mind it starts dawning that I might actually be able to do this thing. The scales going down is certainly quite the motivation.

Enough with the blabbering, on with the pics and stats. I blacked out the camera flash from the before pic because it bugged me. At first I thought "Meh... not that much progress." But looking more closely, I think I can see some shrinkage going on. 4.7kg is not an earth shattering large loss either; I have to keep my eyes on the goal. I'm at one third of my lost goal now, so still some way to go.

Height 165cm (5'5")
Starting weight 76.5kg (168.7lbs)
Starting BMI 28.1
Current weight 71.8kg (158.3lbs)
Current BMI 26.4
Lost weight 4.7kg (10.4lbs)
Goal weight 64kg (141lbs)
Goal BMI 23.5

Temptation in Pastry Form

This morning the scale read 72.2kg. Hellz yes!!! Ticker going down yet again. That also means I lost 4.3kg since starting my journey last summer. That's a third of the way to my total weight loss goal. Woop woop I'm so excited. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to update the stats though. Maybe I'll even take some progress pictures, if I find the time.

After my scale victory I went down to have my usual breakfast of oatmeal porridge. I packed snacks and lunch for MiniMe and myself, helped her get dressed, gave her breakfast, kissed and cuddled everyone goodbye. When I arrived at work I remembered it was Bike To Work Day, a yearly event where all bicycle commuters get a free breakfast. Totally forgot about it. A whole array of pastries were displayed: Croissants, donuts, eclairs etc etc. I used to love that stuff, so my brain did have an initial reaction like "Ohhhh yummm..." but then I thought twice. One of those things probably contains like 500kcals, it contains no nutrients just butter and sugar. Although it does tastes nice, I was not hungry and I did not need them. I took a black coffee, munched 4 strawberries (luckily they also put out a huge basket of fresh fruit) and before I left I also took a banana and a clementine with me.

Picture from http://www.ecns.be/

I am kinda proud of myself. After all I could've just gone for it. I do allow myself the occasional indulgence. It just didn't tempt me that much. I was also reminded of my indulgence the past weekend and that I actually felt a little sick on Tuesday. Nope, not worth it.

Onward and Downward!

I had an excellent day yesterday. I probably went a bit low on the calorie intake, but I figure after the weekend feast, that was OK. It all balances out. And the scales rewarded me with a beautiful loss: 72.7kg! Woot woot! That makes me indeed believe that yesterday's weight was a combination of bloating from the salt and booze of the weekend and the shit that I hadn't evacuated yet.

Anyhoo. Pretty excited that I can have sone (controlled) indulgence during the weekend and get right back on track during the week. That's honestly what I'm aiming for: No all or nothing approach, but something I can keep up for life.