Saturday, March 8, 2008

Saturday During The Snowstorm

Hi everyone! I am still here, just in a Quaker simplicity mode. It is snowing like crazy here, it has been that kind of winter. I know that exercising outside will make me feel even better, so I am looking forward to that.

I was going to talk about using what works for me - meaning what works for me in the long run. Because this is for life, so I have to be able to stick to things.

That means balancing the fact that I can't overdo the complex carbs, with the fact that I don't really want to be eating loads of meat. I just don't like cooking meat and ideologically I am on the vegetarian side of the equation.

But having said that, I like a hamburger once in a while, and I do like a little Better Than Bacon with my Brussels sprouts - I tried soy salami with them one week and it was awful, though I do like soy salami in a sandwich.

Calorie counting also works for me. Every time I have lost weight it has been the result of calorie counting with a food diary (usually written), plus exercise - but 80% of it has been the calories. I realize that this is purely what works for me - and that's the thing, isn't it, fine-tuning a plan until it works for you. And then actually being able to - wanting to, do it for the long term.

I am thinking about writing out notecards each with the calorie count for a complete meal that I like, which would help me note things in my food diary. I went back to writing it down because I did get a little bored with Daily Plate. I still like it, but I needed a change.

Oh yeah, I will be putting links and things back on here, and pictures and so on. But it might take me a while! And thank you for all the comments, you are all really sweet and I do appreciate it so much. I will comment as much as I can, but if I didn't get to you yet please know that I am thinking of you.

Picture, yay a picture! From Wikimedia Commons, by a fellow called Hermann Kauffmann (never heard of him, but it's a nice picture!) called "Braving the Snowstorm," painted in 1889.

8 comments:

Diana Swallow said...

Lidian, I really like sparkpeople.com for tracking my calories. They also have a recipe calculator where you can enter your ingredients and it breaks down the nutritional information per serving.

I do enjoy bacon with my brussel sprouts too but I've found turkey bacon to be acceptable, I just cook it crisp in the microwave and don't add it until the brussel sprouts are done so it stays crispy.

Lora said...

Making cards with meal plans and calories counts, etc. is a good idea! I always say I'm going to do that but I never do...

Hanlie said...

I always love your pics! Nice to see a post from you again!

Grumpy Chair said...

The notecards are perfect and easy. I did this last spring, made up an index card for my usual favorite "healthy" things and meals. I even laminated them, put in a card file box. Then just had to pull out the card and tally the total at the end of the day. Easy peasy.

I need to start doing that again.

Stay warm and I loved the picture. It reminded me of Little House of the Prairie books.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lidian,

Firstly, it's great to see another post from you :-)

As for making yourself some meal card plans, well, whatever *works* for you in the long-run, hey? It certainly sounds like a good idea!

Sorry to hear that you are getting some extreme weather right now. I do hope that the snow clears away soon so that you'll be able to get back to outdoor exercising!!

Have a great week my friend....

Hugs,

Linds x

Honi said...

I agree with Scale Junkie I like spark people too.. its really easy to use.. keeping a notebook is a good idea too .. just find the right combinations of things that works for you thats the very best you can do..

Anonymous said...

I kind of love rough weather and yesterday wanted to hit the rugby field close by and stomp in the mud but I've no wellies!

Megan Rose said...

I swear I'm not fanatical about diets but sparkpeople.com has been really helpful. The bit where I can record what I eat each day and see how many calories it adds up to is so helpful(as well as completely and utterly shocking most days!). Good luck!