Today's Menu & Weight (my tracker)

[TheMeanDM]

My daily tracker, as promised (I ate breakfast before committing myself--dumb me!):

Breakfast:
2 sausage patties
1 slice of cheese
5 mini hostess chocolate doughnuts

Lunch:
Big fat salad bar (lots and lots of lettuce!)
-- 1T Sesame Seeds
-- TT Bacon bits
-- 1/8 C shredded cheese
-- Fat Free French Dressing (125 cal)
-- 3.5oz chunk white tuna (160 cal)

(a little bit of guessing on the cheese, but it was crumbled, and I know I didn't use much)


Dinner:
1x small fat salad
-- 1t Sesame Seeds
-- 1t Bacon bits
-- 2T shredded cheese
-- Fat Free Ranch Dressing (50 cal)
1/4 C Pasta Salad
1/4 C Potato Salad
1x Walley fillet (broiled)
Hash browns (probably 2 servings is what they gave me)

Liquids:
2x 20oz Aquafina FlavorSplash
1x 8 oz Ice Tea
1z 10oz ice water
1x 12oz Michelob Ultra

[dish]

Well, Sir, if that's your normal breakfast then the excess weight problem is less mysterious.

Umm, maybe more fresh fruit and veg could be included in lunch?

[TheMeanDM]

It's not normal, but it's not completely far off, either.

[Crow]

sausage patties, ~205 calories x2
cheese slice, ~113 calories
hostess doughnuts, ~87 calories x5

958 calorie breakfast! That was a "farewell belly" breakfast, right? :smallwink: That said, it's ok to cheat on your diet sometimes, so eat what you really want every once in a while, otherwise you will be miserable. Just do it sparingly.

[TheMeanDM]

Yeah, that breakfast was pretty "over the top".

Normally, I might have something in the 400-500 cal range.

What I was making for breakfast when my wife and I did Weight Watchers was:

1 to 2 servings Potatoes O'Brien (diced potato w/ red & green peppers)
2 servings of Egg Beaters
sprinkle of fat-free (or low fat) cheese
fat free "Flat Out" flatbread

Those would usually keep me filled till lunch. I should start eating those again....

[TheMeanDM]

My Weight This Morning: 225.8

Breakfast:
1x serving hash browns
2x eggs, scrambled
1x slice fat free sharp cheddar cheese

Lunch:
1x medium salad
-- 4oz grilled chicken
-- 1x hard boild egg
-- fat free ranch
-- 5 ritz crackers

Dinner:
4oz grilled chicken breast
2C mixed veggies (peas/corn/carrots/lima/green beans)
2x slices light bread (only 80 cals!)

Snack!
3/4 C frozen strawberries
1x sponge cake
1 small bag baked chips (240 cal I know for sure)

Drink:
1x 20oz Aquafina Flavorsplash
1x 12oz Diet Mtn. Dew
1x 16oz ice tea
1x 12oz Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi

[TheMeanDM]

I was curious tonight about how I was "doing" after eating like I did today.

Before I went to bed, I weighed myself.

Guess what?

226, right on the nose!

A 0.2 gain after an entire day of eating....amazing!!

I tend to lose about 1.5 to 2 pounds overnight...but we'll see what the morning brings :smallbiggrin:

[Crow]

Good luck in the morning! Don't forget to drop the dawntime deuce before you weigh in =)

[Kaelaroth]

Can I suggest drinking less sugary drinks? Admittedly, they probably aren't that fatty, but they're probably killing your teeth. Drink less of that, and more water?

[TheMeanDM]

There is no sugar in the stuff I am drinking, actually.

Aquafina Flavorsplash = 0 calories (Splenda gives the "sweet")

Iced Tea = 0 calories (I don't put sugar in it)

Diet Pop(s) = 0 calories (no sugar)

[TheMeanDM]

My Weight Today: 224.2
Net Change: -1.6


Breakfast:
Potato Cheese Bites (420 cal)
-- I didn't get to eat breakfast, due to needing to get some blood work done. I grabbed these after my appointment because I was out-and-about. Not smart, I know...considering it's 1/4 of my daily calorie allotment!

Lunch:
4x slices 98% fat-free thin sliced turkey (37.5 cal)
4x slices 96% fat-free thin sliced roast beef (45 cal)
1x wedge laughing light french onion cheese (35 cal)
2x slices light italian bread (80 cal)

Dinner:
2C Tuna and Noodles
-- tuna in water
-- reduced fat cream of celery
-- chopped black olives

Drinks:
1x 16oz Iced Tea
2x 12oz Diet Cherry Pepsi
1x 12oz Diet Mtn. Dew

Snacks!
1x small movie popcorn (no butter)
1x laffy taffy (80 cal)

[Kaelaroth]

There is no sugar in the stuff I am drinking, actually.

Aquafina Flavorsplash = 0 calories (Splenda gives the "sweet")

Iced Tea = 0 calories (I don't put sugar in it)

Diet Pop(s) = 0 calories (no sugar)

Seriously? I mean, it may be different here in Britain, but our Iced Tea is crazy sugared, and peppered with E numbers and junk. And both Aquafina and diet stuff are vaguely carcinogenic, aren't they? I'm not trying to bring you down here, just wondering.

[TheMeanDM]

Yes, things are somewhat different than in the UK....well...depending on where you live in the US.

In the Southern states, you'll find that they drink a lot of "Sweet Tea".

It's basically what you describe: ice tea with tons of sugar in it.

In the Northern states, you do find that kind of tea, but most people that I know of seem to prefer the non-sugary iced tea (some with lemon, some without...I'm a without guy).

Splenda (the sweetener in the Aquafina that I drink) does not cause cancer.

http://cancer.about.com/od/cancercausesfaq/f/splenda.htm

The bottom line is that the FDA has found no cancer causing properties in the usage of Splenda, or other artificial sweeteners.

The cancer stigma that surrounds artificial sweeteners is believed to stem from the 1970's when lab rats developed bladder during a saccharin trial. Although no case of cancer in a human has been reportedly linked to saccharin, the stigma still remains.

[Maelstrom]

I'd suggest not weighing yourself every day, as well. Doing so does not really help, with the normal swings here and there. Do it on a weekly basis, to better get an idea of the (hopefully) downward trend.

[TheMeanDM]

Actually, some studies have shown that people who weigh themselves daily tend to lose more weight.

http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/diet-fitness/weighing-in.html

http://www.cfah.org/hbns/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1171

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/0001787/63/

I would support those studies, based on my own "thinking".

I know that if today I lost 1.6 pounds, and I want to "keep it off"...then I need to look at what I'm going to eat for the day and make smart choices.

If I only weigh myself once a week, I wouldn't know that I've already almost lost 2 pounds...and so maybe later toward the end of the week I could start thinking "well, I've been doing pretty good, I think...so maybe I'll just splurge a little."

or possibly think "Man, I don't feel or look like I've lost anything...what the hell am I doing this for?" and end up getting frustrated.

[Crow]

Kaeleroth (?), sugary drinks are bad for your teeth, and extremely bad for fat-loss, so you were batting .500 on that one. Sugar becomes fat extremely fast and is one of the things you want to avoid like the plague while losing weight.

MeanDM, I'm with you on weighing yourself every day. Whatever motivates you is what you should do =) I fluctuate every day but when I look back over the past year, I can see a very steady increase* over the last 12 months, and it gives me a good sense of my progress. A year ago, I was fluctuating around 160, and now I fluctuate around 170-174.

All, the reason you want to weigh yourself every day is precisely because you do fluctuate. If you weigh in on sunday one week, and that is a "low day", and then weigh in next sunday and it is a "heavy day", you may actually think you've gained weight when in reality, you are just retaining more water or something else. Weighing in every day gives you a better sense of your "range", and over time, a better sense of your progress.

* To clarify, I am trying to gain weight, so I am not getting fatter. I've gained about 10+ pounds in the past year, and body fat has remained the same as of March (6.4%, same as last year on the button).

** To those who have PMed, I am "off" on Wednesdays, Thursdays, will answer up when I get back "on" sometime during the weekend. Sorry.

*** MeanDM, it looks like you are keeping a decent rein on your diet, I hope you are able to keep it up, man! You're doing great. Have you planned a "cheater meal" or anything like that for the weekend?

[Dragonrider]

Potato Cheese Bites (420 cal)
-- I didn't get to eat breakfast, due to needing to get some blood work done. I grabbed these after my appointment because I was out-and-about. Not smart, I know...considering it's 1/4 of my daily calorie allotment!

is it actually 1/4 or are you rounding up to 500? 420x4=1680, which I would not consider enough for a grown man.

[/concern]

Good luck. :smallsmile:

[Ranna]

I find weighing myself each day to be rubbish for me, I can loose up to 6 pounds in one night so depending on what my mysterious body decides to do next weighing myself each day usually makes little sense to me :smalltongue:

I am however really really really loving all these threads I find other peoples food choices soo very interesting especially from other countries. (is it a bad thing that I can identify with people over what food choices they have lol)

Also what you doing for exercise and stuff like that?

[Crow]

Been a while for MeanDm, so I'm going to post my meals for today;

Breakfast:

About 3 cups of muesli cereal (I love my cereal)
Enough fat-free milk to mostly submerge the cereal

Brunch?:

1 half broiled chicken breast (about 9oz)
1 1/2 Zuchinis, boiled

Lunch?:

1 peanut butter sandwich

Dinner:

12-13 oz bbq tri-tip
1/4 (before cooking) brown rice

After Dinner Snack:

Seed and Nut mix with dried cranberries, 1/2 cup

Before-Bed Snack?:

2 scoops of protein powder (Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein, Tropical Punch flavor)
Mixed into 10 oz fat-free milk



Notes:

I just realized I'm eating about 4 servings of cereal for breakfast. That makes sense, as I am having to buy 3 boxes of cereal a week. That's getting near 800 calories (mostly carbs....good ones though) to start my day. No wonder I drag so bad if I miss breakfast. It also looks like I'm pulling in around 200 grams of protein a day (900 calories), but only 150 without supplementation. I need to find a way to squeeze in more protein if I'm working out hard and don't have powder available. Also, aside from seeds/nuts and peanut butter, not getting enough fat. Probably made up for it today with tri-tip, but need to keep an eye on it. Eyeballing it, easily surpassed the 2000-calorie barrier today (1870 required to maintain weight)...So may be just fine with fat intake. Maybe cut down carbs and replace with fats.