Could I be the freak who actually gains weight from caffeine?

I know that I haven't posted for ages. It's not too big of a deal since this blog is basically by me and for me. However, if anyone in the blogosphere has been waiting with bated breaths, the moment of a new posting has arrived.

I think most people just do Instagram or Tumblr now for postings about themselves. Images and memes. Pure laziness.

I'm writing this just two days after the July 4th weekend. I imbibed, I indulged, and now I feel regret. If one person could consume an exorbitant amount of pistachio "themed" ambrosia, then that one person is me. I also ate my body weight worth of tortilla chips. Then, there were also the usual summer bbq offenders: burgers, other non-tortilla chips, beers, and desserts. I also have a newfound enjoyment of deviled eggs. Oh, that delightful mayo.

Okay, so today's weight on the scale was 171. I am so frustrated (as usual) with my weight. With the exception of the gluttony displayed this weekend, I have been very "good" since school has let out. I've also done 5 miles+ on my fitbit for 15 consecutive days. I'm doing everything right, but that number is not budging.

I know that lots of people use coffee as a meal replacement, or simply to give themselves energy when they're feeling lackluster because of cutting calories. Many articles tout the benefits of coffee. The one flaw in coffee drinking is connected to those who use tons of cream and sugar. While I sometimes use half-and-half, my coffee is mild and dark, rather than light and sweet.

I got to thinking though---could there be detrimental things about coffee? I know that you can find any statistic that you want to, but I decided to Google "coffee and weight gain." I found quite a few articles that showed the relation between difficulty with weight loss and caffeine. This one is written in a straightforward way and is from a "decent" source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/500213-can-excess-caffeine-cause-weight-gain/.

Basically, large caffeine intake increases your body's cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone directly connected to weight gain.

I got to thinking about my weight loss journey. It was easy for me to drop eight pounds for my wedding. After the wedding, I worked with a personal trainer and got my weight down a tad bit more. Then, during the summer after we got married, the numbers on the scale kept climbing. I was eating healthy foods and going to the gym. I've been stuck in the 160s for years. I even mentioned my "plateau" in the posting from January.

Something else happened the summer after we got married. We began drinking coffee. I've basically been struggling with the same number on the scale for six years. I've also been drinking coffee for six years. I generally have two cups in the morning, but if we have it at work, I'll have it too. Sometimes, around 3:30, I'll get coffee before I go to the gym.

Summer is the perfect time for me to try this "experiment." If I have headaches or feel sluggish, i can deal with the effects in a setting where I do not have to be instructing twelve year olds.

I'm going to give the caffeine elimination a try. If this actually works, I'm going to punch myself in the face for drinking coffee all of these years.

New Year

I haven't posted in eons. I've probably gained tons of weight, stopped going to the gym, and just become a human sloth, right? 

Nope. 

I am the anomaly of the diet and fitness world. I consistently eat well (treats here and there, of course, but they are all accounted for on myfitnesspal app) and exercise 3-4 times a week. However, I still manage to stay at a standstill on the scale. 

I've gotten over it. When I talk to friends, I sometimes get, "Oh, well, you're probably gaining muscle. It weighs more than fat." Nope, I'm a realist. I do use the weight machines on a regular basis, but there has not been much change in my muscles or tone. 

I'm pear-shaped and chubby and that's how I'll most likely stay. 

The lowest weight I've ever been in recent years was back in 2008. I was 152 on my wedding day. I didn't starve and I didn't go crazy at the gym, and overall I only lost 8 pounds for the wedding. I had people telling me I looked like I was 125 pounds....um....yeah, I was that in like 3rd grade. 

I am at a plateau now, but the plateau will soon be changing....

I could be a pro-wrestler

I know I haven't blogged for ages... I've been inconsistent with my writing, but not with my workouts and food journaling. Since the school year has started, I've stuck to 1,500 calories or less and logged my foods on myfitnesspal. I've been going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I generally do 30 minutes on the weight machines (though I used to abhor them, I now enjoy seeing my progress--even if it is at a snail's pace), 10 minutes on the stepper, and 30-45 minutes on the treadmill. I've also embraced the concept of good fats and eat foods like almonds and avocado (halves) on a daily basis.

Hmm... my weight? As of yesterday, it was 163. I have people at work who say, "Oh, it's so hard to lose pounds when you're strength training too. You're gaining muscle." Bullshit. I do thirty minutes with some weight machines. I'm not Tina Chandler.


Anyway, with weight, I've always been amazed at how challenging it is to lose one pound, yet it's a cinch to gain multiple pounds in a small amount of time. Case in point: yesterday's 163 pound weigh in. I've been stuck between 164 and 168 for months. That single pound decrease made me feel happy.

Then, last night, we went to a friend's holiday party. I already had an early dinner of Chinese food and was pretty full, but I still indulged at the party. I didn't have any alcohol, but I had a few large serving of nachos (topped with cheese, ground meat, guac, and sour cream) and three pieces of apple crumb cake. Speed ahead to today. I got on the scale at the gym and weighed in at 168! Surely, I have not "really" gained five pounds in 24 hours. I'm certain this is legitimately bloating, but it's fascinating how the body reacts to certain foods.

I'm attempting to detox from my nacho consumption by drinking lots of water. Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll weigh in and be less than 168.

So--- the weight/health quest continues... if I could see 5 as a middle number, I'd be overjoyed. 

Repeat...Repeat...Repeat

I'm down to 164...wait...I was down to 164 at the end of June.

I've gotten to the point where I'm saying "Fuck the scale." Half the time, when I weigh myself at the gym, it is an hour or so after having a hearty breakfast or after drinking a large amount of water. I'm not making excuses, but having foods and fluid in your system can add up to 2 pounds on the scale.

I feel good at this point, which is all that matters (although if I could ever fit into my size 10 jeans again, that would be an added bonus). I've been using the weight circuit consistently. I used to curse at the machines, especially the biceps curl and shoulder press. Now, I just go into the weight circuit room with the mindset of Do the machines for at least 20 minutes. Be grateful you have the physical ability to do these exercises. Some people want to and can't. 

I've also been eating extremely well . A sampling of my daily intake would be something like: spinach/onions/tomato omelette with small chicken sausage link for breakfast, salad with avocado and chicken for lunch, chicken/rice/veggies for dinner, fruits for snacks, veggies/hummus for snacks. There are the days, however, when I go whole hog. These are the days when I have copious amounts of chips and guac, hamburgers, beers, and some dessert. The next day, I just try to balance things out. I'm healthy a majority of the time and am gluttonous for a minor amount of time.

I hate that overused Finding Nemo quote, but damn it, I'm going to use it: "Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming."

Carb-apalooza

I was excellent last week with my eating habits. There were days when I was over my caloric intake by 300 or 400 calories; then everything was balanced out the next day with an extra 300 or 400 calories remaining at the end of the day.

Then, Carb-apalooza hit. It was a nightmare of my own creation. I had purchased a bag of animal crackers... a gigantic bag. Over the past three days, I've had this perpetual cycle of going into the pantry, grabbing 4 or 5 crackers, sealing the bag shut, and then devouring the crackers. Then, three minutes passes and I go back into the kitchen.

The animal crackers bag has 17 servings and, upon being half finished, I finally threw the bag in the trash. I threw it to the bottom of the trash too, beneath coffee grounds and other gross items I would not be tempted by whatsoever.

I haven't been to the gym since Friday, but it feels like it has been ages. It's amazing how your body can revert back to its old, lazy ways. It's not helping that I have a bit of the summertime blues. People can scoff at me all they want: "You have the whole summer off. What's there to complain about?" However, I sometimes do feel down in the summer. I have no idea why, but it happens every year. I could get a summer job, but I am stubborn and do not want to think that "work" is what defines me.

Once I get off my ass, I'm going to the gym... hoping to feel better...both physically and mentally. 

Remedial weight loss

I'm down to 164. I'm trying extremely hard to make sure that I log 5 miles each day on my fitbit. My caloric intake is 1360 or less.

Still though, I feel like a weight loss idiot. This whole process should not be this difficult. I want to see my face thinner and want to have the extra skin at the sides of my stomach...decrease in size...not disappear...just decrease.

Still though, at least I have a smaller transition than some people in life. I can't imagine what it would be like to be "skinny mini" (as my grandmother used to say) and then one day wake up and be "big." I've always been larger, so being big is nothing new to me. My goal weight would probably be no lower than 150, although I'd be happy with 155. Most BMI and other health charts will show than 155 pounds for a person of my height is still "unhealthy." Fuck them. I just want to fit into more pairs of my jeans. 

Out of refills, voluntarily

The other day, a co-worker was telling me a statistic that he read in regard to fitbits and other personal fitness trackers. On average, most people, stop using the device after a 90 day time range. This statistic is comparable to the one about how people stop their New Year's resolutions within 90 days, if not earlier.

I haven't posted to this blog in eons....probably 90 days. However, I've still been tracking food on myfitnesspal. I've still been going to the gym and, most days, have logged 10,000 steps on my fitbit.

I had some losses in my weight about a month ago. This loss coincided with my usage of Phentermine. Basically, I went to my general physician and explained my frustration over not losing weight. I eat 1,400 or less calories a day and exercise "somewhat" often, yet I still feel like a behemoth. The doctor ran lots of blood tests on me and, with the exception of a slight vitamin D deficiency, I had no health issues that would be barriers to my weight loss. Secretly, I was hoping for a case of hypothyroidism to explain my fat-assedness...no such condition afflicts me.

the doctor said he could prescribe me, on a temporary basis, something called phentermine. It's basically a stimulant and some people have used it as an appetite suppressant. I used it for a month and felt phenomenal. I'd wake up in the morning, avoid my morning coffee, and instead would pop one of the blue and red pills. It made me feel energized, yet calm. In terms of suppressing my appetite, I don't think I noticed any major shifts in my eating.

Fast forward to the day my pills ran out. I basically did not want to "rely" on pills for weight loss. The idea of having a daily dose of a stimulant, which can be addictive, freaked me out. I hate taking pills, in general. When my pill supply ran out (you only can get a 30 day supply at once and have to go to the doctor for refill prescriptions), I just figured I'd stop taking phentermine.

Cue the next week: I felt incredibly exhausted. I'd come home from work, eat lots of Hershey kisses and whatever junk food was around, then go to sleep. Consecutive days passed like this and I couldn't figure it out. I thought it was residual fatigue from the 8th grade trip that I had chaperoned the week before.

By day 5, I figured it out----withdrawal from the stimulant. I was so pissed at myself for taking this "easy fix" for a month and then being completely in a slump after not taking it anymore.

Karma struck... even though I didn't overeat too much, my week of being a slug made me gain 5 pounds.

Now, almost one month later, without taking phentermine, and I'm getting back to where I want to be. I'm @ 165 pounds now. I just took a weight class at the gym and my quads kill. Excellent.