Day 43 - Eating Back Exercise Calories

First off, my weigh-in yesterday was great! 150.4 lbs, down almost 2 lbs from last week. A miracle considering the 4200 calories I accidentally ate last Monday!! Just goes to show, a splurge every once in a while isn't the end of the world!

I am never sure exactly what to do with respect to eating back the calories that I burn through exercise. I have always in the past considered the calories that I burn through exercise to be "bonus calories"... I think that eating them back can be a slippery slope. Especially if you over-estimate how much you burned, or go by the numbers that the exercise equipment provide. But, in the past I have never really burned so many calories that this would be an issue. For example 30 minutes of speed walking on the treadmill or 30 minutes on the elliptical just doesn't burn THAT MANY calories (about 250 for my height and weight).

But, now that I have started running, I wonder if I should pay more attention to this. For example, yesterday I pretty much went through the day eating my normal meals - aiming for 1200-1300 calories. Then after dinner I went for a run. I ran 9.5km, in about 1 hour 10 minutes. I estimated that I burned about 650 calories. Went I got home, I was feeling light headed... probably because my body was trying to function on about 600 calories for the day (after you subtract the calories I burned)... so I had a snack, a little bigger than my normal snack, but not huge. The snack I had satisfied me...(2 ryvita crispbreads with 2 laughing cow cheese wedges and strawberry jam spread on them, and a peach for about 200 calories)... but it still didn't bring my calories up for the day enough to make a big difference. But frankly, I just didn't feel like having a heavy snack at 9:00pm...

Here's what I ate... my dinner was very small, but I just can't eat a big meal before I go running (unless I want to keep tasting it the whole way through my run - ICK):

Day 42 - Awesome Weekend Feel Great

I had a great weekend in terms of both my eating and my activity. There were several opportunities for major stumbles... (a business trip on Friday, a dinner out at a steakhouse with friends and a bridal shower with a buffet)... but given my major lapse last week on Monday, I tried really hard to be mindful of what I ate.

For my 1/2 day business trip, I packed both my breakfast and my lunch. I'm sure I looked like a huge loser, turning down the breakfast on the plane and pulling out my own breakfast, but who cares! Plane food turned out to be a Cinnamon Roll, Nutrigrain Bar and a full fat yoghurt. Probably not TERRIBLE, but who knows how calorie dense that Cinnamon Roll was. At least with my whole wheat bagel, peanut butter and banana, I knew exactly what I was eating.

At the steakhouse, I had grilled halibut and steamed veggies. I asked them to hold the butter on the steamed veggies (yay me!). The halibut fillet was 10oz! Which is just way more food than you really need to eat. I gave probably a 1oz portion to my husband to taste, and I ate the rest (oops), but I had had a good day up until that point, and it was FISH! (which is NOT the same as eating a 10oz rib steak, well unless its deep fried fish!!) I also had one glass of white wine and no dessert.

At the bridal shower, I skipped the fruity punch, drank club soda... took one sandwich-sized plate of appetizers (it was my lunch, afterall!) and skipped the dessert tray. I estimated everything as well as I could when I got home, based on what I think the ingredients were. Sometimes I think I probably OVER estimate in situations like this. For example I had three cherry tomatoes stuffed with some sort of cream cheese filling, so I logged, 3 cherry tomatoes and 3 tbsp of full fat cream cheese. Well there was probably less than 1 tbsp of filling per tomato, especially given there was some other ingredients in the filling, and it is quite possible that the cream cheese might have been light... who knows! This is just an example, but I always try to use "worst case scenario" logic when I am logging foods that I didn't cook myself.

In terms of activity, I did a 7.5km run on Friday, an hour of weight training on Saturday, and a 10.5km walk on Sunday.

Edit: I just went back and re-read this post. And I thought to myself, goodness, what a lot of boring detail... does anyone care whether I ate three cherry tomatoes and that I didn't eat a cinnamon roll on the airplane... this is just the sort of thing that I used to go on and on to my husband about non-stop (poor man)... this blog just gives me another outlet for all that useless information. Whether anybody reads it, or cares about it is sort of beside the point for me...

Day 38 - Emergency

So, my husband and I have been invited to a cottage party at the beginning of August. You know what this means, right??? Bathing Suit! In front of friends! *PANIC*!! Yes, this is the emergency. It puts a whole new urgency into my weight loss efforts. While I had been casually moving along thinking, "there's no rush"... as long as my weight is going down, it doesn't matter how fast (and I was really enjoying that frame of mind), now I don't feel so relaxed about it anymore...

So, this party is 5 weeks away. There is no healthy way to reach my goal weight by then (my goal weight is 130), so I'm not even going to consider that for a second. On average, I have been losing about 2lbs per week. If I continue with that trend, I will lose 10 more pounds before the party. That will put me at about 142lb. I could be happy with that! I will probably fit into most of my "skinny shorts" and I might even feel comfortable in my bikini (but if not, I'll just bring my one-piece too)...

There! Thanks for talking me through that! I feel better now! Emergency over.

I ate very well yesterday. I ran 5km in the sweltering heat, which was tough, and then I did an hour of free weights with my trainer at the gym. After my workout I ate two Ryvita Sunflower and Oat Crispbreads with Laughing Cow spread on them. This is a GREAT snack. I am signing up for a 10km race next Wednesday, I REALLY hope I can do it!!

Day 37 - Rest Day

I took a rest day from exercise yesterday, I didn't really feel like I deserved it, because of my big binge-fest on Monday. But when I look back I haven't had a day off from exercise in a while, and I don't really believe in punishing myself for binging (by starving myself or over training)... I just need to dust myself off and get back on the horse. If I did some damage, well the worst case scenario might be that it will take me one whole extra week to get to my goal weight. In the big scheme of things, this is not a huge deal. The biggest risk of damage caused by occasional binging is to my motivation.

Ironically, Monday night after all that senseless overeating, somebody in my running group remarked that I'd lost weight. It was the first person to note it aloud. This is always a little milestone. But instead of being really pleased, I was just sitting there thinking about all the crap I had eaten that day. Good news... if I still looked like I lost weight (even after eating all that food), then I guess I still had. You can't gain all your weight back in one day of bad eating... even if it was REALLY BAD. So, I'm back on track and looking forward to making more progress...

Yesterday was a good day eating wise. I didn't do any activity, but I am running and weight training tonight. Here is what I ate:

Day 36 - Accidental Free Day

Every once in a while I wonder about the merits of having a "planned cheat day" each week in order to help me deal with my cravings (and supposedly boost my metabolism). But then I realize that it's just not a good idea for me, the "accidental cheat days" are bad enough, I can't imagine if I planned them too...

Yesterday, I was traveling on business, which is a HUGE issue that I have to deal with. I ate a good breakfast, skipped all the baked goodies at morning meeting break, but the lunch was just so yummy and delicious looking that I took a generous amount AND a dessert. This would not have been a big deal at all, had I stopped there! But, I didn't, I somehow convinced myself that I should just eat what I want for the rest of the day and get back on track in the morning.

When I sat down this morning to try to figure it all out, I came in over 4000 calories for the day! This completely mucked up my daily average for last week! The worst part was... my Mom had a party for her 65th birthday on Saturday, and I was totally good. I didn't drink, only had two bites of appetizers, deprived myself of the delicious looking dessert... and for what??? So I could mess it all up closet eating crap two days later???

I know it would have been much more sensible to indulge within reason at a special event like my Mom's party and NOT like I did yesterday. Plus, I just feel like crap today because of it, my stomach is bloated and I feel yucky.

There is some good news: (1) I weighed myself yesterday morning (before the binging) and I was down to 152.0, (2) Despite all my overeating, I still went out for my 5km run, and (3) I'm back on track with my eating today (even though I actually don't really feel like eating at all!)

I am hoping that if I am good the rest of the week, I can still see some progress, although, I won't expect much of a loss.

Here's my summary from the weekend:

Friday: 1203 calories (6km run)
Saturday (Mom's Party): 1534 calories (60 minutes weight training)
Sunday: 1326 (9km walk)
Monday: Best Guess.. 4287 (5km run)

Weekly Average: 1722

I'm not posting a food log from yesterday, it would be too long... but here are a few of the things I binged on... toast with butter and peanut butter, cinnamon toast, chips with cheese dip, chocolate bar, shortbread cookies...

Day 32 - Weekends

Weekends can be such a HUGE challenge for me, and they seem even harder now that I have my weigh-in day on Mondays. I am just that much more scared that a little overeating on the weekend will impact my weigh-in...

This weekend, for example on Saturday night, I have a party for my Mom's 65th birthday, I know there will be appetizers, a BBQed dinner, dessert and lots of alcohol. I am dealing with this by skipping the appetizer, having a normal sized dinner, and volunteering to be the designated driver (if all works out as planned)...

Then, on Sunday morning I have a brunch at a girlfriends house - no idea what I will get served, but it's at 10am... so should I eat breakfast at home? Probably not, but I will be starving by 10am... then should I skip lunch? How will I make it to dinner?

On top of all that, Sunday is Father's Day, which means that I really should try to do something special for my husband, the morning will be too hectic to take him out for breakfast, so I should probably cook him something nice for dinner - like steaks with a yummy dessert (more temptation)...

Check back in on Monday to see how I did!

Here's what I ate yesterday...

Day 31 - Sucker for Tracking

If there is something diet, food or exercise related that can be tracked, you can probably bet on the fact that I am tracking it. For example, here is a view of the excel spreadsheet that I have been using to track my weight loss, calorie intake vs calorie needs, weekly averages etc etc etc etc etc etc....

Weight Loss Goals and Tracking

From this spreadsheet I can create limitless graphs and charts of my progress. I play with it constantly. I track my calories using the Calorie King website (it's my favorite and I have tried many others), and I transfer the totals to this sheet. It might seem like a lot of work, but I think it's fun and I love being able to open it up and see my progress in black and white (and blue and yellow).

This time I have been trying to track my calorie deficit. I know that you have to run a calorie deficit of about 3500 calories before you will lose one pound. So, I have added a formula to my spreadsheet to calculate my BMR (basal metabolic rate) using my most recent weight, and then I add my estimated calories burned through exercise to get a rough total of my calorie needs each day. Yes I know I burn other calories besides the exercise calories, but I didn't add them to help account for the fact that my exercise calories may be overestimated (who ever really knows how many calories you burn doing certain activities). My theory is, if I can figure out my calorie deficit and compare it to my weight loss, I might be able to use that to figure out how many calories I should eat to maintain my weight loss? Who knows, but its worth a shot.

This is part of the reason that I get really weird about having to go out to dinner, or to social events where I can't accurately track my intake. Even if I eat mostly healthy foods, if I can't count the calories accurately, it throws off all my tracking. Am I obsessed? Maybe. But isn't it better to be obsessed with healthy eating and tracking than to be obsessed with eating junk food and lying on the couch?

Here is what I ate yesterday (I also rode my bike to the gym, ran 5.3km in 38 minutes, and did one hour of weight training):

Day 30 - One Month Down

Well, I am about one month into this new weight loss effort. After one month is about the time when I usually start to feel the impact of my weight loss. It hasn't really become apparent yet to others, but my clothes are a little looser and I just feel thinner and better.

I can tell you from experience that the next month coming up is critical for me. It is fairly easy to run a calorie deficit for about a month, but in the past this is often about the time when I lost my motivation. About 2 weeks of unhealthy eating will undo all the good I've done over the last month and I'd have to start all over again. I can honestly say though, right now my motivation feels quite strong...

If I buckle down and get through the next month, the weight loss will be that much more noticeable, and my motivation will be even stronger. Also, the end will be in sight. Well, actually, I shouldn't call it "the end" that is the problem that I've had before with maintaining my weight loss. It's not the end, it is just a milestone...

I will have to give some thought to my plan for maintenance. How do I tackle it? How much should I increase my calorie intake? For how long should I continue to count my calories... forever? The thought of having to count my calories forever just makes me sad.

Last night wasn't a running night, so I got out my bike and rode to the grocery store to pick up some grapefruit for this morning. It was 10km there and back and it took me about 35 minutes. I haven't rode my bike in years, but I want to start riding more this summer.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Day 29 - Breakfast Food

I could probably exist pretty happily on breakfast food three times a day for quite a while before I would get bored. Breakfast is the meal I look forward to the most each day. Breakfast is also the meal that I most love eating out in a restaurant - although I try not to, because I have trouble resisting the "bad" stuff (bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, toast, pancakes, french toast, eggs benedict, etc).

During the week, I try to keep my breakfast fairly simple. One thing remains constant. I start each and every breakfast off with half a grapefruit. I never let myself run out. Grapefruit is mandatory.

Then, I usually switch back and forth between a cold cereal with unsweetened Almond milk (LOVE the Almond Milk) and hot cereal cooked in Almond milk (LOVE the Almond Milk). My favorite cold cereal is Kellogg's Guardian and my back-up is Special K. For hot cereal, I switch between oatmeal, cream of wheat, and oat bran. Always cooked on the stove top (microwaved hot cereal is not the same).

Lately, I have been leaning more often towards cold cereal, and I'll tell you why... While I love the hot cereal, I also love to "pimp it up" with lots of yummy add ins. But the ADD INS can really ADD UP and derail an otherwise very calorie conscious breakfast. Here are some of my favorite add ins for hot cereal:

1. 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 mashed banana and 2 tsp honey.
2. 1/2 mashed banana and 2 tsp molasses.
3. 2 tsp light butter and salt. Then top oats with poached egg and 15g grated cheese.
4. 1 tbsp brownie mix and 1/2 mashed banana (peanut butter too is good here).
5. Cook oatmeal in leftover coffee, then add cocoa and sugar.
6. Grated Apple with cinnamon and raisins.
7. Mashed Pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar.
8. Cook the oatmeal in the juice from canned peaches. Then stir in the peaches with sugar and sprinkle shredded coconut on top.

Over time, I started adding more and more things to my hot cereal until it got a little out of control. So, lately, I will try to limit the add ins to 100 calories. But I can't do some of my favorites (e.g. #1 or #3 above) for 100 calories.

Every Sunday I have a special treat that I look forward to ALL week. Toast! Toast is one of my biggest weaknesses. During times in the past when I have gone on crazy binges, toast has often been the trigger/culprit. I'll just eat slice after slice of toast with butter/honey, butter/jam, butter/molasses... it's dangerous. So every Sunday morning, I let myself have some. Just for two slices of toast, it is a higher calorie breakfast than any of my other days. I make homemade bread, and figure out the nutritional info per gram. Two slices usually comes to around 200 calories, then I'll use 2 tsp of light margarine per slice, and 1 tbsp of some sort of topping (usually a jam or marmalade) per slice. This can add up to 350+ calories, not including my grapefruit. But its worth it, because it keeps me from feeling "toast deprived" which can lead to "toast binges".

Here's what I ate yesterday (see my "cold cereal breakfast"? I had it twice, for breakfast and for a snack after my run!)

Day 28 - An Excellent Weekend

I had a fabulous weekend in terms of staying on plan. This was in part because we had no social events scheduled for the weekend, so there was nothing to derail me.

I was faced with temptation a few times, but I avoided it, and am pleased with myself. For example, Friday night my husband called to say he was going to be late for dinner. I had some chicken thighs marinating in a fat free yoghurt marinade and I had been planning to go running after dinner. I changed my plans and finished my 5km run before dinner. My husband called at about 7:00pm to say he was on his way home, and asked me if I wanted him to pick up dinner on the way home, and we could save the chicken for Saturday. I said nope! The chicken will only take 15 minutes on the BBQ, once he gets home, and I could wait that long!

The second temptation was Sunday morning. It was my son's last morning of Hockey for the season. My husband suggested that we all go and watch and then go out for breakfast after. This is the sort of thing that I have trouble saying no to. It's not just about the food, it is a fun family outing, and I feel bad sometimes depriving the rest of my (skinny) family from their treats. But, I said no and ate my usual breakfast at home. Next weekend is Father's Day, so maybe we'll do a breakfast out next weekend instead.

Overall, I did good...

Friday I had 1281 calories and Saturday I had 1346 (I had summer rolls with peanut sauce and rice for dinner and I had to eat three of them to fill me up... I thought it would be low cal, but it all added up!)

Here is my food from Yesterday (Sunday):

Day 25 - Stake in the Ground

I find that when I am on a diet, it is always helpful to have a stake in the ground somewhere. Something to work for. I know that some people argue against this... that you should just aim to live a healthier lifestyle for yourself, and not for others (or for your vanity)... But my philosophy is, if there is something that can provide you with extra incentive and motivation, then use it.

Right now, I have a couple of things that I see out on the horizon that are helping to motivate me to stay on track. June 20 my Mom is having a 65th birthday party. I know it's not far enough away to make a material difference to how I LOOK, but it can make a difference to how I FEEL. And I want to go to this party feeling GOOD. If I'm on track and doing well, I will feel thin, even if I pretty much look the same as I do now. I could potentially lose 4 more pounds before the party, and that is something to strive for.

Another, longer term incentive that I have is the wedding of a friend coming up near the end of September. I am hoping to have reached my final goal by that date.

I also have a non-diet related goal, and that is to run a half marathon. I am planning to sign up for a half marathon on October 11. I have a running partner with lots of marathon experience, and I have already been running for just over a month.

Here is what I ate yesterday:

Day 24 - Firmly seated in Wagon

I feel much better after getting a full good day of eating and exercising under my belt. I was under my calorie target and I got a ton of exercise. I walked 40 minutes, ran for 30 minutes (4km) and did weight training for 1 hour.

Sometimes it is really hard to get back on track after a few days of being naughty. I kind of want to put if off for "one more day"... just take the opportunity to eat all those things that I miss and then I'll get back on track the NEXT day. What a poor attitude that is, but I play mind games with myself, and I usually lose.

When I am on a roll of being good, it gets easier - my resolve just strengthens.

Here is what I ate yesterday. The calories were good, but there was a notable lack of vegetables. That's not the norm for me (I usually get lots) so it doesn't concern me too much.

Day 23 - Still clinging to Wagon

I haven't posted for a few days, but I don't want anybody to think it is because I have fallen off the wagon, I haven't (not completely - I am being dragged behind the wagon, but I think I can still climb back on).

Sometimes life just conspires to get in the way of this blogging and posting business. So, I don't have time to put post the details of everything that I ate from Friday to Saturday, but I will give a recap.

Friday - Great Day, I consumed 1251 calories and went for a 4.5km run.

Saturday - I had a dinner out with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday, I was very mindful of what I ordered, and think I did good considering my options. I had shrimp cocktail to start, baked salmon for dinner, a piece of chocolate birthday cake and two glasses of wine. My total came to 1929 for the day (my best guess).

Sunday - I ate 1174 and walked 10km at a pretty good clip.

Monday (weigh in day) - I weighed myself first thing and was down another few to 155.6, which is great, BUT.... I was out of town on business and went out for dinner again. This time I didn't do so great. I ordered cheesecake and my total came to 2576 (although I did run 5.5km in the morning).

Weekly Average (with my two not so great days): 1519. Still overall most likely a calorie deficit. So I'm OK with that.

Tuesday: This was my worst day since I've been on this diet. I did good in the hotel with my breakfast (oatmeal with raisins), but somehow starting at lunch I kind of derailed a bit. I ate too much, had cookies, then ate too much dinner at home, and had chips and salsa before bed. My total came to 2454. Hopefully, spread across the week, my average will still be OK, and I will still post a loss next Monday.

So, in summary, my business trip wasn't really a success, I succumbed to some indulgences. I ate things when I wasn't really hungry for them, and I made some bad choices. Luckily, it was only 1.5 days (three bad meals in total), so as long as I get right back on track today, the damage shouldn't be too bad.

This is exactly the sort of thing that I need to address moving forward. As long as I have days when I overeat like this, I can't just eat normally the rest of the time (I have to eat at a deficit to recover). For example, if I was on maintenance and let's say for arguments sake, my maintenance calories are 1800 per day... then I go on vacation, or out of town and I eat 2500 for a few days. I will gain weight. It's all about the numbers and I KNOW that, it just doesn't make it any easier...

Day 18 - My Blog Title

One day several years back, I was in a children's clothing store with my daughter, who was about 6 at the time. She was trying on a pair of pants in the changing room, which was basically just a round rod with a curtain hanging from it right in the middle of the store. There were lots of people milling around. I peeked my head in to see how she was doing, and I thought the pants looked a little snug, so I suggested that I would go and get her the next size up. And she says, "No Mommy, it's OK, my bum doesn't jiggle like yours". All around me, people were trying not to laugh. Needless to say, we high-tailed it out of there with no new pants. Since then it's been a bit of a running joke in our family, even at times when my bum hasn't been at all jiggly.

I'd say right now, it's about medium-jiggly. I am about 30 pounds heavier than I like to be, but I am also in really good shape from cardio and weight training, which helps keep the jiggle-factor at an acceptable level (the non-bathing suit jiggle factor, that is... the bathing suit jiggle-factor is still out of control).

I did well yesterday. I took a recovery day as my hip was sore from my run the day before, not sure what the problem is there, but I don't want to exacerbate the problem by over-training too much while I'm just learning to run.

Here was my food (I kept it a little low, on account of no planned physical activity):

Day 17 - Business Meetings

I already spoke a little in an earlier post about how a business trip was the trigger that completely spoiled all my great weight loss efforts the last time (how's that for not accepting accountability???) Regardless of the fact that it was my own fault, and that I am the only one with the power to decide what goes in my mouth, the three day business trip that I took last September was a huge challenge for me. A challenge that I failed. So understandably, I am nervous for the upcoming business trip that I have planned for next week.

This time it is only one night. It will be one dinner in a restaurant, one hotel breakfast, and one catered meeting lunch. I will have to avoid plane snacks and muffins and danishes at the meeting (tough!). I will do best if I can plan ahead. Breakfast will be OK, most large hotels cater to business travelers that do not want to eat a big bacon and egg spread for breakfast. I'll be able to get a bowl of oatmeal and some fruit. It might be a little more than I would have at home, because you just never know how they cook it (in whole milk with butter and salt?) But it will probably be the best I can do.

The dinner out is a little worrisome. I will be eating out with three colleagues and I won't want to be fuss bucket in front of them. This meal will probably include an appetizer, a meal and at least one alcoholic beverage. I won't know the restaurant in advance so it will be hard to plan.

None of this is happening until next Monday, but I am already stressing out about it.

Yesterday's recap is a good one. I did a lot of exercise. I went running with my running group (30 min) and did weights with my trainer (60 min). I had a small snack when I got home, even though I wasn't that hungry, just because I thought it would do me good to get a little more fuel.

Here's the grub:

Day 16 - Routine

I don't know about anybody else, but I thrive off routine where my eating habits are concerned. I have a few "go to" meals that are healthy, that I love, and which I could happily eat each and everyday. And for the most part, I do. For breakfast and lunch, I have one or two meals that I rotate. Dinner is my chance to mix things up a bit (but I still have favorites for dinner too).

Today, I'll talk about lunch. I pack my lunch each evening to bring to work. At work we have access to a fridge, toaster, toaster oven and microwave. So, my options are many. Over time my lunch has evolved into a bit of a formula. A toasted sandwich of some sort, a piece of fruit, a fat free yoghurt and a granola bar. I usually aim for about 500 calories for my lunch. I have a huge selection of granola bars in my pantry, so depending on how calorie dense my sandwich, or fruit is, I will select a 90 calorie granola bar, or my all time favorite which is 140 calories.

For the sandwich, I have two options... 20g of peanut butter spread on a toasted whole wheat bagel (comes to about 260 calories)... or a sandwich made with mashed avocado spread on one side, a laughing cow wedge spread on the other, and tomato. I toast this in the toaster oven until it is melty and delicious (comes to about 270 calories). Sometimes I change up the bread. I use either a whole wheat flatbread (made for hamburgers) or regular whole wheat sandwich bread. On the weekends for a treat I will use sourdough bread and grill it (instead of toasting) with a little bit of cooking spray.

Here is a picture of my lunch yesterday:


And here is the recap of my whole day (I had some cream of wheat for breakfast that I cooked in almond milk and then added in mashed banana and a scoop of PB2 - it was delicious):

Day 15 - Weigh In (Weekly vs Daily)

Yesterday was my weekly weigh in day. I always prefer weigh myself weekly rather than daily. When you are losing weight, stepping on the scale only weekly allows the progress to be more apparent; and when you are maintaining (or trying to maintain), weekly helps to avoid those ever annoying daily fluctuations that can be so discouraging.

On my last few diets, my weekly weigh in day was Friday. My reasoning was that my best days for healthy eating are usually Monday to Friday, and by weighing in on Friday, I have the rest of the following week to make up for any indulgences that I enjoy over the weekend.

This time, I decided to challenge myself a little more and make my weigh in day on a Monday. This means I have to pay a little bit more attention on the weekend. Or maybe it will mean that my weigh in day won't actually always reflect my lowest weight, but as long as the trend goes DOWN over time, I don't see how that will matter much.

Since I've started this diet, I have had two weekends where I have loosened the belt (pun intended) a little on Saturdays for various reasons - eating more than 400 over my daily target calories. I was back on track on Sunday, and by my Monday weigh in.... all was OK, both weeks I posted a nice loss.

Here is my weekly recap:

Weigh in: 158.4 (10.4 loss)
Daily average Calories: 1316
Daily average exercise minutes: 40 minutes

.... and of course, what I ate yesterday (I had a snack after dinner, even though I don't normally let myself eat between meals. This was because I did 1.5 hours of exercise, and I was low in calories. The post workout snack hit the spot!):

Day 14 - Walking

Walking is a great form of exercise. Yesterday, my whole family got out for a walk on the Trans-Canada trail. I wore my GPS thing-a-ma-bobber. We traveled 8.24km in 1 hour and 28 minutes, at an average speed of 5.6km/hour. My little GPS contraption told me that I burned 452 calories, but that seems like a lot, I take that with a grain of salt!

Here is what my food looked like: