nutrition tracking this week goes on...

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:03:38 EST

and today it was/is:

br: one slice whole grain w. chicken cold cuts, coffee
lunch: roast beef w. potatoes, carrots, onions; wine mousse
dinner: flat beans w. mushrooms and what's left of the spinach salad

danced all morning, plus some heavy cleaning

boy all this better show up on the scale this week. i'm getting withdrawal symptoms! that's why I had wine mousse for dessert today.

melt those pounds off...

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:05:08 EST

time to shake it up a bit...

brkf: whole grain bread, cheese, 4 cherry tomatoes, coffee
lunch: spinach salad (raw spinach leaves with thinly sliced mushrooms and carrots, bean sprouts, vinaigrette); fish and rice; yoghurt with fresh berries
dinner: chicken and zucchini

action for the day:

90 min. choreography, 30 min. swimming

...and today?

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:56:37 EST

program for today is similar to yesterday.

I've been doing "atkins at night" now since the beginning of may, meaning no carbs after lunch, and I've taken off about 6 lbs by now. I got sugar cravings last night which I indulged in this morning (and resisted last night even. it showed on the scale, so it was worth it.) so I allowed myself an 'unusual' breakfast:

-- one slice whole grain bread with thin spread of cream cheese and marmalade

lunch a variation of y...

woof! to the dogs

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:56:01 EST

hiya dawgies on the spring/summer challenge! it's going to be fun meeting you all.

I had a great sunday today, we are having a ballet festival in our town.
some choreographers and dancers from the area danced last night in a gala production, woo hoo it was just great.

then this morning they set up barres on the square in front of the theater (outside, luckily the sun was shining), and three choreographers alternated in giving the exercises. so ballet class with prof...

cat story

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:41:13 EST

ok so it's up and down, but the general line seems to be down, though ever so slowly.
yesterday this fighter cat bolted around like a Jamaican sprinter, but then just plunked himself down on the grass, which he never did before.
he's getting all floppy, weak in the legs, and today he tried to get me up at 5 as usual, but then had some breakfast and was content to go back to sleep. he has such days.

my roller-coaster ride is because I read that cats can recover from stro...

georgie again...

Sat, 11 May 2013 03:59:24 EST

hey, he's doing better. hope this continues.

so I can't believe this brain tumor thing, seems more like stroke. but the vet said there is no such thing as stroke in cats.
that's not what I found on the internet, though.

still puzzled...

ps. it's raining. i'll try my luck at getting him in the house. but he's much more clever than I am!

georgie update

Thu, 9 May 2013 04:58:21 EST

?????

for a cat with a supposed brain tumor, he's doing ok right now.
head is tilted, his back legs give out on him every once in a while, but he can climb his cat tree to sleep on top of the closet if he wants. but he doesn't want, really; he prefers to sleep on the couch or cuddled up to me.
but he spends the whole day out, eats pretty well, about 4 times a day.
and he still 'beats up' sunshine who weighs twice as much as he does (playfully, of course).

a diet technique that seems to work

Wed, 8 May 2013 04:36:59 EST

lately I've been having some success with this technique of 'dieting':
basically it's atkins in the evening.

--rule of thumb: 3 meals a day, 5 hrs apart, no snacking

--carbs and 'sweettooth' stuff (a little bit of jam... don't overload, of course) allowed for breakfast, I prefer whole grain bread with cheese and tomato

--heavy on veggies at lunch, fruity dessert

--dinner: protein & veggies, no (or very low) carb. so meat, fish, eggs, dairy, c...

adventures in the kitchen

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:44:29 EST

today I accidentally discovered a way of making vegetables taste really good.
veggies in question: leek and carrots

cook the leek until soft, add carrots (don't let them cook too long)
drain
now I usually add some crème fraiche or light cream, but I didn't have any,
all that was there was a cheese mix, half and half of gorgonzola and cream cheese.
a tablespoon of that mixed in with the veggies, plus some rice, and voila, lunch!

...

that dxxm cat

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:02:07 EST

worked on me for an hour so i'd let him out. well he succeeded at last, and at 6 am I had to get up, get dressed, get his bowl of food ready, take him down and let him out. hey, he's supposed to be sick! now it looks more like he'll outlive me!
ps I work evenings so I usually sleep from 1 to 9 am. at six i'm a zombie.

ok next theory...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:04:42 EST

... about what could be wrong with georgie.

we've been through it all. vestibular disorder, infection, stroke, brain tumor, epilepsy, Addison's disease, meningitis, lyme disease; they all fit and at the same time, nothing fits.

now I see similarities to Parkinson's. maybe he's having a series of mini-strokes which are destroying brain cells, then neuro-impulses don't make it to the muscles. so he topples over.

he can't get a grip when he jumps onto smooth s...

challenge results

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 04:18:12 EST

ok I did everything required, exercise is no problem, it's my life anyway;
ate calorie reduced, chose healthy over 'favorites', logged and drank water.
according to calculations I should have made my 5% goal, 4 kilos, but I fell a bit short.

so what was the missing ingredient?
the 'c' word:

commitment!

all my thoughts are getting eaten up by life's issues, and i'm not concentrating on weight loss. it doesn't happen simply by going through the mo...

what a difference 20 lbs makes

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:17:50 EST

we all wish to drop 20 lbs instantly.

well, I did. here's how:

my cat sunshine was sitting on my lap. then he jumped off, and wow, did I feel the difference! he weighs 20 lbs. I felt like I was suddenly on the moon.
motivates me to lose another 20 lbs myself.

let nature take its course

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:44:37 EST

this is still all about my cat georgie.

he's having health issues, something neurological, but a clear diagnosis is hardly possible, too expensive, dangerous and not worth it.

so the vets have been giving him medication for possible causes, antibiotics that ruined him, and pain medication that helped but he now refuses. we have cortisol now to relieve any swelling but he won't take that either, regardless of any tricks.

and now? he seems to be impro...

meningitis, maybe?

Tue, 9 Apr 2013 03:16:01 EST

so now we've added meningitis to possible causes of georgie's troubles.
read up on that, and it doesn't really fit, either.

so three vets can't figure out what's going on.
something neurological, that's for sure.
and how do you get an intelligent cat to take a pill -- without looking like a scarecrow that has spent a day in a hurricane?

whatever...

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 04:00:02 EST

read up on lyme disease. don't think it's that either.

so... the TRY-angle method will be applied today, i'm headed for the vet's with georgie. he just pulled apart my roll of packing string looking for something to do, he wants out but as we leave in an hour... he has to stay in. this is no terminal cat!

a cat with lyme disease?

Sun, 7 Apr 2013 10:13:43 EST

is this possible?

my cat has been 'diagnosed' with probable brain tumor, vestibular disorder, stroke, epilepsy, glaucoma, infection, etc.

he is very much alive, but loses muscular control... sometimes.... sleeps a lot, loses weight, then eats all day, all kinds of craziness.

we live on the edge of woods, deer sometimes come into the area, esp at night, and they bring in loads of tics. I have spent hours pulling them out of georgie in the past few years. got a ...

dear mr. obama

Fri, 5 Apr 2013 06:14:46 EST

here's my suggestion about what to do about north korea.

could you please invite kim to spend a month in Disneyland?

it seems power-hungry people who haven't really matured cannot differentiate between 'respect' and 'terror', they use terrorist methods, believing they win 'respect' of others. you can see this all over the planet.

something is missing in their childhood, they need a lot of catching up. it is well-known that mr. kim is a fan of Disney. maybe th...

tingling sensation

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 04:00:26 EST

woke up this morning with a strange sensation.

everything feels new. can't explain this at all. I just have the feeling I am on the threshold to a new life. new friends, new energies, new ...??? it's quite puzzling.

so now I have to go out and make it come true!

doing the math

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:14:25 EST

following spark advice, this is how I spend my day:

wake up, do at least 5 min. of exercising to get the day started.
within an hour, have breakfast.
of course, write everything down I eat and drink. including calorie counting.
after 5 hours (each), ditto lunch and dinner.
stick within 1200-1500 calories for the entire day, that's about 400 calories a meal.
try not to snack, unless absolutely necessary.
two hours at least of exercise (ok that's par...

i wonder...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 05:30:28 EST

last year I pushed it a bit too much, the pounds rolled off, and then...

then I had the glorious idea that massages might help the process along even further. but what happened? my appetite 'normalized', to say the least. my body started craving food. you know, pasta, chips, candy... the usual. just couldn't resist any more.

then I overheard the masseur saying that these massages actually do increase appetite.

can this be true? it's only now i'm getti...

what qigong is good for

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:05:05 EST

I've been following qigong videos recently and I really feel a change.

energy flows differently, more freely.
thoughts change.
my body feeling is different.

I get the feeling i'm digging into my 'real' self,
that got buried long time ago.
insult and injury led to putting on a protective shield.
but energy doesn't flow through fat cells.
so it's more of getting totally bogged down than being protected.

it's got to change.

breakfast

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:48:37 EST

why is it so hard not to skip breakfast?
much better to skip dinner!

and i'm amazed at all the breakfast recipes on spark.
smoothies, muffins, egg dishes, oatmeal combinations, quiches, burritos, sandwiches, puddings...
how could anyone NOT want breakfast? yum!

the tiger is loose

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 05:02:20 EST

what a strange dream. any interpreters out there?

I dreamed I let the tiger out of its cage, and it started climbing trees, jumping in the most elegant and spectacular maneuvers from one treetop to the next, obviously having such a good time.
all fears of danger were (almost) dissipated.
then I wondered why I ever kept it under lock and key.

if you've been following my issues with georgie, you know the cat I've lived with for the last 14 years (that's him on my...

losing weight is like...

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 03:58:44 EST

...like wth...??!!

I diet and exercise all day, don't lose an ounce.
I just live a normal life, and BAM three pounds go off.

delayed reaction, I suppose? or just all that water?

it's just incompetence

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 04:15:14 EST

it's my first laptop. haven't got a clue how to use it, and the instructions only gave me information about what not to do, and how dangerous it could be.
some colleagues of mine got the thing up and running again, and now I know how to turn it off!

paranoia it ain't

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:43:07 EST

ok guys. now my brand-new laptop crashed.
after all i've been through!

a breather

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:41:10 EST

once had the privilege of taking a ballet seminar with Marcia haydee, who was on a yoga trip. she started the class out with some yoga breathing exercises:

sitting on floor, legs front. breathe in.
while breathing out, pull legs in, knees towards shoulders, 'scrunch up', forehead to knees. breathe out all the way.

then lift head, holding knees, straighten back to an arch, breathing in.

breathing out, head on knees, straighten legs going down with knees; ...

a wusu gem

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:33:24 EST

here's another little bon-bon you can do as a wake-up shake-up, something to make your day start out real nice.

either lying in bed or on the floor:

start out with a 'body scan', eyes closed, run through your body, starting with toes, feet, up to knees, through body to arms and shoulders, neck and head. just 'think' of each particular place, how does it feel, is there any tension there, etc.

then slowly come to life, wiggle fingers and toes, stretch, open eyes...

stretching 2

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:50:12 EST

ok let's twist it up a bit now.

LEGS

sitting straight up, legs apart.
twist to right leg, pull forward with back straight. (hold, deepen)
then round back, nose to knee. (hold, deepen.)
turn sideways, so left shoulder is above right shoulder, arms over head, you can grab your foot if you like.
now, open left arm out so both arms are 'side', but you are still inclined towards right foot. open chest.

from here, pull up and over to the left......

a stretching routine (beginners)

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 15:55:08 EST

oh I just love this ltgl (living the good life) challenge, basically I can't live without stretching. here's what I do:

(even though I can't reach all the positions fully, too much belly in the way, I do it AS IF I could; hold a position about 15 seconds, breathe out and deepen the stretch, hold again, maybe a further deepening, then relax and shake out.)

LEGS

sitting on floor, legs together, straight out in front. feel sit-bones, straighten spine, relax shou...

pegasus, or dreams of flying

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 05:16:05 EST

in schooltime years I very often had flying dreams.

some were 'cool', the real sensation of flying and enjoying the view, but being far from the scene of action and very alone up there.
but more often than not I also had the sensation of not being able to return to solid ground, even though I wanted to. I would keep getting higher and higher; it was like breathing in and not being able to breathe back out again. I was almost on the verge of panic, and I guess only waking up c...

losing weight is like...

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 04:19:25 EST

... like being on a budget.

make sure you get the important bills paid!
that translates to making sure you get the nutrients your body needs. if not, you will experience withdrawal systems and that leads to ... bankruptcy.
spend your calories wisely!

summing it up

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 05:51:47 EST

blogging and feedback might have been a bit more time-consuming than usual, but it has been worth it. got to know my team members a bit better, and got to thinking about what I do all day and becoming more aware of the little things.

I have so many issues right now that making an effort to change my habits, acquire useful ones and kick the unwanted ones, is a bit mucho, but the seed is sown.
although sleep is not a problem for me, it sure was this week, and will continue to be...

motivation down to the cinders

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 07:16:23 EST

when all efforts are to no avail, when they even just bring more trouble, and you're better off not doing anything at all, is it any wonder that motivation just goes down the drain?

something I had been really excited about is proving problematic and a total waste of time and energy.

all efforts at dieting are not working.

my cat is very sick.

my family is... well... forget it.

work situation is complicated too.

it's all heade...

habits update

Wed, 6 Mar 2013 04:32:45 EST

the question of the day is how we are doing, how we can improve.
well i'm doing terrible, to put it straight. nothing seems to be working out. all my efforts are "for the cat" ('fuer die katz'), meaning all for nothing.
i'm losing the same kilos as last year, well at least I stopped an upward spiral; my non-scale victories also seem to be going down the drain, and my cat georgie seems to have a brain tumor he will not recover from and will probably not survive the year. he's still g...

kick the habit!

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 07:52:55 EST

my thoughts today are revolving around how to kick unwanted habits.

i'm cleaning house, using a lot of water. after 4 weeks in Africa you realize what a precious substance this is. so why let the tap just run while you're wiping and scrubbing elsewhere? which got me to singing 'you can't always get what you want...' (who wrote that anyway, was it the rolling stones?)

and waste. we waste so much. did you realize that while a huge percentage of mankind is going hungry, and...

a very useful habit: wake-up shake-up

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 04:47:53 EST

ooops, this was supposed to be for the weekend. hope it's not too late!
my personal wusu for this week is: wake up after 3 hrs of kindly allowed sleep, shake off about 50 lbs of cats (the biggest one is a lightweight at under 10, that's georgie) and wiggle eyelids in the hope of getting them apart.

under normal circumstances my wusu would be:

(stretching, wiggling and yawning as desired, obligatory!)
then bicycle riding, in bed or on the floor
then slowly ...

it's those adverbs that make it or break it

Sun, 3 Mar 2013 05:34:17 EST

sorry kaliswalker I realize I got the challenge assignment all wrong, lots of us understood many different things about it but that's the beauty of it all. you intended everyone to answer one question a day about one new habit to acquire or kick, I suppose. but I took it more loosely, in the sense of talking about one habit per day, with or without the questions.

while I was walking in the woods, I 'meditated' about one habit I might profit from but is nigh on impossible for me t...

the best-laid plans... foiled again!

Sat, 2 Mar 2013 03:18:28 EST

this is a blog inspired by the 5% challenge, about habits we'd like to create.
habit no. 1 is getting 8 hrs of sleep.

sounds easy enough, just go to bed 8 hrs before you want to get up, right?

not so easy if you've got three cats and no doors, and one of those cats is georgie.
this fella is a prime example of a calculating cat. he wants breakfast about 4 hrs into those 8, never fails. breakfast? oh no, he'd rather go OUT. meaning I have to get up, get dressed, ...

just for the record...

Fri, 1 Mar 2013 03:12:57 EST

all this talk about global warming
it's now march, 'astronomical spring', and when I look out the window I see patches of snow. is it only the north pole that's warming up?
not that i'm thinking only of myself...

energy continued...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:48:31 EST

this is a continuation of the last blog, 'energy gone?'

... now when you've got comfortable, start breathing in slowly and concentrate on breathing out.

when you breathe in, gently allow your weight to shift forwards.

when you breathe out, gently allow your weight to shift back to your heels.

when you breathe in, slowly raise your arms, as if from the wrists, back of the hand up, from your sides to about waist height.

when you brea...

energy gone?

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 04:46:30 EST

if you find you're low on energy, there are some simple tricks you can do to re-charge those batteries. this one comes from qi/gong:

stand legs about shoulder-width apart. look out to the horizon, and turn your thoughts inwards. smile inside yourself.

knees slightly bent, shoulders loose and heavy. 'sit' on clouds.

think of the top of your head as being open to the sky

think of the back of your neck as a crossroad for energy flow up and down y...

wake/up shake/up feb 23

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 04:27:51 EST

mornings are hard on me because first, I|m a night person, and second I work at night surprisingly. so I|ve come up with a little trick that helps me get going and I hope will also help me take off those stubborn kilos and keep them off!
first thing in the morning I do ONLY FIVE MINUTES of exercising, a stretch, 3 min. cardio, then 3 or 4 exercises for the whole body.

the 5% challenge starts today, so for the next 8 weeks, I|ll be posting my shake/up plan for the week on t...

california or bust

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:10:21 EST

losing weight is like searching for gold.

you start out on the east coast, and at first it's a wonderful downhill ride down those appalachians.

then you hit a plateau you think will never end. to reward you for all your efforts, you then hit the rockies.

oof. uphill, uphill, uphill. whoa! slip, slide, wheeeeee!!!! halfway back across the plains! groan, get up, brush the dust off...

start that climb again, look for the passes, if you HAVE to fal...

know your numbers!

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:37:02 EST

as one part of SMART goals, the 's' stands for 'specific'.

are your goals specific? are the numbers clear?
this means: how much do you want to lose? (5% for me is about 8 lbs)
how long will it take? (8 weeks, the winter challenge)
how much should you lose per week? (a pound)
how many calories in/out to create a 500 calorie/day deficit?
...

still catching up after all these days

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 07:33:53 EST

ok so i'm intrinsically lazy. if not under pressure, i like to let things be.

result: the challenge starts within the week and i'm on assignment no. 5, just found out there are 10!
last blog was no. 6, so i still have four more after this one.
procrastination gets you nowhere but under stress.

no. 5: methods of calorie-cutting

to me, the 'diet' version of foods is not usually a good option. your body doesn't get fooled by the reduction in fat or sug...

still dieting after all these years

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:47:21 EST

why do diet and exercise plans fail?
(the best-laid plans of mice and men...)

i lead an active life (usually) so exercise plans are not the problem for me. actually, i do a lot.. so when i reduce my exercise to an hour or two a day, i even start gaining.

my chagrin is calorie intake. so maybe i'm ravenous after hours of exercising, that's normal, but the trouble goes back.

i'm not a morning person. just can't get the machine pumping. spent many years of ...

watch out for triggers!

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:15:29 EST

the next assignment is to identify triggers: food and situations; figure out where it comes from and how to stop it!
more easily said than done...

food triggers: what sets off an eating binge? i think there are basically three different types: first, when i'm in an upward (gaining) spiral; second, when i'm holding my weight; third, when i*m successfully losing.

when i'm gaining, everything is a trigger. no use analyzing that (now anyway.)

when i'm...

SPARKCHANTAL's SparkPeople Blog

nutrition tracking this week goes on...

melt those pounds off...

...and today?

accountability

woof! to the dogs

cat story

georgie again...

georgie update

a diet technique that seems to work

adventures in the kitchen

that dxxm cat

ok next theory...

challenge results

what a difference 20 lbs makes

let nature take its course

meningitis, maybe?

whatever...

a cat with lyme disease?

dear mr. obama

tingling sensation

doing the math

i wonder...

what qigong is good for

breakfast

the tiger is loose

losing weight is like...

it's just incompetence

paranoia it ain't

a breather

a wusu gem

stretching 2

a stretching routine (beginners)

pegasus, or dreams of flying

losing weight is like...

summing it up

motivation down to the cinders

habits update

kick the habit!

a very useful habit: wake-up shake-up

it's those adverbs that make it or break it

the best-laid plans... foiled again!

just for the record...

energy continued...

energy gone?

wake/up shake/up feb 23

california or bust

know your numbers!

still catching up after all these days

still dieting after all these years

watch out for triggers!