Whenever I tried to lose weight in the past, one thing that always bogged me down and wore me out was the constant record keeping. "Write down everything you eat", "write down all the calories you eat", "write down all the exercise you do, and for how long"...ugh, the list could go on and on. Well, no flippin wonder people don't have time to work on losing weight!!
Now, that doesn't mean there's not some record keeping that has to be done. I tried not keeping track of anything - and that backfired BIG TIME!! So, with all things, I figured there had to be a happy medium. How could I keep track of how many calories I was eating without having to spend all day jotting everything into a handy dandy notebook?
Well, my friends, it basically comes down to some mental math. I have never found out the real reason why people keep a food journal. I'm not a weight loss expert, and I know that the experts have lists of reasons why it's important to forever be reminded of how much you eat every single day of your life - but that's just not for me. In my opinion, I think it's important to keep track of what I eat every single day - but once the day is over, it's over and I move on to the next.
So, mental math - right - my recommended calorie intake for my weight and height is between 1400-1600 calories a day. So, I break each meal up: 300 - 400 calories for breakfast, 300 - 400 calories for lunch, 400 calories for dinner. That gives me 1000 - 1200 calories. Then I throw in two to three snacks of 100 - 200 calories - one mid morning, one mid afternoon, and then maybe one early evening (before workout if I'm on the lower end of calories for the day). That gives me 1400 - 1600 calories. It's so much simpler to take each meal at a time and figure out the calories - then making a mental note for the next meal, and so on.
Here's an example of my typical day of eating:
Breakfast (7am):
Weight watchers muffin - 180 calories
Glass of Orange juice - 100 calories
Two cups of coffee - 20 calories
Total breakfast calories: 300
Snack (10am):
Banana - 105 calories
Lunch
2 pieces of bread - 140 calories
2 pieces of deli ham (97% fat free) - 80 calories
Slice of fat free cheese - 25 calories
Fat free yogurt - 80 calories
Total lunch calories: 325
Snack
Granola bar - 90 calories
Glass of 1% milk - 100 calories
Dinner:
4ozs salmon (cooked in non calorie cooking spray) - 100 calories
1 cup brown rice - 300 calories
1 cup steamed cauliflower - 25 calories
Total dinner calories: 425
Evening snack:
Cup of grapes - 103 calories
Total calories for the day: 1448
Now, 1448 is a crappy number to try and add up in your head - so just round. Figure out your exact calories per meal, and then round it - say you ate 190 calories for snack...just round to 200. Keeps a nice round number in your head. It's simple to figure, simple to remember, and you still keep yourself on track for your caloric intake.
I also have to throw a quick preach in here about calorie counting. I know it sounds like a good idea to eat as few as calories as possible in order to lose weight - THAT'S NOT TRUE!! Slashing your calories below your recommended range may help you shed a few pounds fast - but they will fly back just as fast once you start picking up your calories. It's safer, healthier, and more beneficial to slowly decrease your caloric intake every couple of weeks until you get down to the weight you're shooting for. Then eat the recommended calorie intake to maintain that weight.
Till next time. :)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
And Today's Weight is????
This week's weigh in is a momentous one. Today marks 4 months since I started my journey to getting healthy and losing weight. It's amazing how quickly the time has flown by - and I'm so proud of all that I've accomplished in that time.
So, without any more delay....my weigh in this week is......
225lbs!!!!
Starting weight on January 17th: 263lbs
That's a total to date weight loss of 38lbs. That's almost the 40lbs I was achieving for. I didn't reach my goal weight - but I'm happy with being so darn close.
My next goal is to be 199lbs by August 17th. That's 3 months to lose 26lbs. That's a reasonable goal, I think.
I know today's blog is short - but Monday posts will probably be like this. I like to bask in my glory..LOL
Till next time!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Night On The Town - Nature's Cure for Stress!!
I haven't really gotten into my personal feelings with my latest posts, but I was really feeling down in the dumps. My motivation had really dwindled, the stress of going to school EVERY day and then getting all my homework done at night was leading to less and less sleep. I was exhausted, frazzled, and just in need of some "girl time". Well, I found all the medicine I needed last night.
Not only did my night out help lift off some stress that I've been dealing with -but it also had a postitive impact on my weight loss achievements. I've been out to bars and clubs with friends before - but I'm just usually the overweight buddy that offers a good laugh. Last night, on more than one occasion, I was involved with the "prowlers". Prowlers are those drunk guys that hit on the women at bars. Most people feel that prowlers are a pain in the ass - and they are, especially when you're enjoying a night out with the girls - but to me, the prowlers last night were a confidence boost. It showed that my weight loss is having some kind of impact on my personal appearance - and that was actually a great feeling.
I also deleted a personal fear last night, thanks to my new found confidence. I have always LOVED to sing, and LOVE kareoke. I've sang in front of people before - but I usually have to be pretty wasted before that will happen - and I will usually only sing in front of people I know. Last night, I was able to get up in front a crowded bar - sober - and sing not once, but twice!!! It's such an amazing feeling to get up on stage and not think that the people are thinking "look at this fat ass trying to sing". That thought didn't cross my mind. The patrons cheered and applauded - and I felt GREAT!!!
So, I learned a valuable lesson last night - I'm getting my self confidence back. I can go out with my beautiful, skinny friends and not feel like the odd ball. An amazing feeling - and one that has refilled my motivation meter. Thank you my wonderful friends!!
Till next time. :)
Friday, May 14, 2010
Officially Enlisted!!
I met with the bootcamp head instructor today, and he's a great guy. He's friendly, motivating, and very supportive. He explained the whole process - and that part left me on the uneasy side. Hearing about what's going to be expected of me was a little daunting, but hearing that I'm going to lose some serious weight and gain serious muscle eased that fear just a little. He shared some of the success stories that he's had in the past, and told me that as long as I show up for every session I will achieve my goal of getting under 200lbs by the beginning of August.
The facility really is amazing. I've driven by the World Gym many times, but never been inside. It is definately a top of the line facility - and the obstacle course, well, not sure how to describe that. If there's anything about this course that resembles a real military bootcamp, it's the course. I'm not sure how I'm going to get across monkey bars, climb up walls, climb up rope ladders, and all that jazz - but I will give it a damn good try.
So, I got a few weeks before I start. That's given me some motivation to get off my arse and start working out again. I DO NOT want to show up on my first day, and be back to square one on my fitness level. I've worked hard the first four months, so I want to be ready to face competition my first night - not eating their dust.
Till next time. :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!!
The past couple of days, I've had several discussions with different people about the definition of dieting. It's amazing how different people view diets. My favs from the past couple of days:
"Dieting is how you lose weight. You only eat healthy stuff until you lose the weight you want to lose."
"Dieting means watching how many calories you eat and cutting out the junk until you lose weight"
"Dieting means living off rabbit food [salad], and that just doesn't work for me"
Before I poke fun at those views of dieting, I have to poke at myself. I was a person that has "been there, done that" with all three of those dieting views. I ate really healthy food until I lost some weight, and then ate "regular" food again - and all the weight magically reappeared (and then some). I watched calories and stayed away from junk food, and I lived off "rabbit food" until I couldn't take it anymore.
I'm not going to give you a definition of dieting - I'm going to ask you to remove it from your vocabulary all together. Dieting is from now on a bad word!! I know I've used it - so sue me - but from this point on, the D word is no longer allowed to be used to refer to my weight loss.
So, the one thing that I have learned the past four months has been the key to my success. It's enabled me to stick with my weight loss, and it's the key component that I was missing all along. What is it you ask?? Exactly what the title says - I can have my cake AND eat it.
So, what the hell does that mean?? The one thing that I did this time around that I've never done before is get rid of the D word, and focus on completely changing my whole lifestyle. That means what I eat, my whole family eats. What do I eat?? Anything I bloody well want. The key to that, though, cooking healthy!! I eat pizzas, hamburgers, steaks, carbs, desserts - and even chocolate!! You have all seen those commercials that claim you can eat anything you want and still lose weight if you take their pills?? Well, they got half of it right. You can eat what you want - it's how your prepare it that will make the difference.
I've had a few people ask me to post recipes of the food I eat. Well, the simpliest way to do that is give my resources for the foods I prepare. I use Guilt Free Cooking, Better Homes & Garden Eat Well, Lose Weight, $7 Healthy Cookbook, and Allrecipes.com. Every Sunday, I make a meal plan for the week for the dinners we're going to eat and then I make a shopping list and go grocery shopping. My hubby and I divide the cooking responsibilities - so that makes it a lot easier. The secret's not in what I eat, but how it's prepared. I can make pretty much anything I want - I just use healthy ingrediants. I use lean meats, whole wheat pastas, and fat free dairy products. Instead of frying in oil, I sautee in cooking spray. Rather than having mashed potatoes, I have boiled or I make mashed potatoes with fat free sour cream instead of milk and butter. The second key is portion size. I make sure I stick to 3-4ozs of meat, 1/2 cup of carbs, and then load on the veggies. I have dessert recipes that are fabulous too. I make sure that I stay within my 1200-1400 calorie range each day by mentally noting how many calories I'm eating at each meal.
Losing weight is my key goal, but I want to make sure the weight stays off after it's gone. The only way to really ensure that happens is to eat healthy FOREVER!! That's such a scary word, I know, but it's the truth. I'll let you in on a secret, though, it's not bad at all. The things I eat now are so much more tasty and enjoyable than any of the crap I used to eat. They aren't hard to prepare, and our grocery bill has actually DECREASED since this change. I know a lot of people whine about how expensive it is to eat healthy - but it's not really. Cut out the chips, soda, and other crap from your grocery bill and you'll be surprised of the difference.
Lastly, I want to quickly touch on "cheating". Now that's a word that should also join the D word - but I'm going to let it stay. Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one doesn't mean that every once in a while you can't enjoy the sweet satisfaction of junk food. My family occasionally likes to go out and eat dinner at a place that lacks the "healthy option" menu - but I don't let it stress me out. I savor every bite of it, and then work out harder the next day. I enjoy a slice of Domino's or a McDonald's hamburger once in a blue moon - but I enjoy it, and move on. Enjoying these little things as luxury items isn't so bad - just don't make a habit of it. So, you eat something you shouldn't one night - big whoop - it's not the end of the world!! So, once again I will say HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!! (Just try to stick to low calorie cake, or a nice small sliver of the bad stuff on special occasions).
Till next time. :)
"Dieting is how you lose weight. You only eat healthy stuff until you lose the weight you want to lose."
"Dieting means watching how many calories you eat and cutting out the junk until you lose weight"
"Dieting means living off rabbit food [salad], and that just doesn't work for me"
Before I poke fun at those views of dieting, I have to poke at myself. I was a person that has "been there, done that" with all three of those dieting views. I ate really healthy food until I lost some weight, and then ate "regular" food again - and all the weight magically reappeared (and then some). I watched calories and stayed away from junk food, and I lived off "rabbit food" until I couldn't take it anymore.
I'm not going to give you a definition of dieting - I'm going to ask you to remove it from your vocabulary all together. Dieting is from now on a bad word!! I know I've used it - so sue me - but from this point on, the D word is no longer allowed to be used to refer to my weight loss.
So, the one thing that I have learned the past four months has been the key to my success. It's enabled me to stick with my weight loss, and it's the key component that I was missing all along. What is it you ask?? Exactly what the title says - I can have my cake AND eat it.
So, what the hell does that mean?? The one thing that I did this time around that I've never done before is get rid of the D word, and focus on completely changing my whole lifestyle. That means what I eat, my whole family eats. What do I eat?? Anything I bloody well want. The key to that, though, cooking healthy!! I eat pizzas, hamburgers, steaks, carbs, desserts - and even chocolate!! You have all seen those commercials that claim you can eat anything you want and still lose weight if you take their pills?? Well, they got half of it right. You can eat what you want - it's how your prepare it that will make the difference.
I've had a few people ask me to post recipes of the food I eat. Well, the simpliest way to do that is give my resources for the foods I prepare. I use Guilt Free Cooking, Better Homes & Garden Eat Well, Lose Weight, $7 Healthy Cookbook, and Allrecipes.com. Every Sunday, I make a meal plan for the week for the dinners we're going to eat and then I make a shopping list and go grocery shopping. My hubby and I divide the cooking responsibilities - so that makes it a lot easier. The secret's not in what I eat, but how it's prepared. I can make pretty much anything I want - I just use healthy ingrediants. I use lean meats, whole wheat pastas, and fat free dairy products. Instead of frying in oil, I sautee in cooking spray. Rather than having mashed potatoes, I have boiled or I make mashed potatoes with fat free sour cream instead of milk and butter. The second key is portion size. I make sure I stick to 3-4ozs of meat, 1/2 cup of carbs, and then load on the veggies. I have dessert recipes that are fabulous too. I make sure that I stay within my 1200-1400 calorie range each day by mentally noting how many calories I'm eating at each meal.
Losing weight is my key goal, but I want to make sure the weight stays off after it's gone. The only way to really ensure that happens is to eat healthy FOREVER!! That's such a scary word, I know, but it's the truth. I'll let you in on a secret, though, it's not bad at all. The things I eat now are so much more tasty and enjoyable than any of the crap I used to eat. They aren't hard to prepare, and our grocery bill has actually DECREASED since this change. I know a lot of people whine about how expensive it is to eat healthy - but it's not really. Cut out the chips, soda, and other crap from your grocery bill and you'll be surprised of the difference.
Lastly, I want to quickly touch on "cheating". Now that's a word that should also join the D word - but I'm going to let it stay. Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one doesn't mean that every once in a while you can't enjoy the sweet satisfaction of junk food. My family occasionally likes to go out and eat dinner at a place that lacks the "healthy option" menu - but I don't let it stress me out. I savor every bite of it, and then work out harder the next day. I enjoy a slice of Domino's or a McDonald's hamburger once in a blue moon - but I enjoy it, and move on. Enjoying these little things as luxury items isn't so bad - just don't make a habit of it. So, you eat something you shouldn't one night - big whoop - it's not the end of the world!! So, once again I will say HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!! (Just try to stick to low calorie cake, or a nice small sliver of the bad stuff on special occasions).
Till next time. :)
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Heading Off to Boot Camp!!
Don't worry, I'm not joining a branch of the military, I'm talking about FITNESS Boot Camp!! In my day, and maybe still today, it was known as "fat camp", but I like fitness boot camp so much better.
While browsing around on a gym website the other day, I came across a flyer promoting their "boot camp" services. The camp consists of a fitness program that's held three times a week for six weeks. The sessions are all 90 minutes long, and are basically guaranteed to kick your ass. The camp is run by several professional fitness "drill sargeants", that work on endurance, muscle toning, strength training and cardio.
If I had read a flyer like that 6 months ago, I would of said "ha! Yeah right!" That was not my reaction after reading it. I started getting that little excitement bubble in my stomach - and no, I wasn't hungry. I decided to send an email requesting more information. Today, I got a call from the camp organizer that is actually an ex drill sargeant from the army, by the way. He was really nice, really supportive, and gave me a lot of great information. The camp starts June 2nd, costs $249, and he thinks I sound like a perfect candidate. We spoke for about fifteen minutes about my progress thus far, my lack of current motivation to work out, and my desire for a challenge. He thinks the boot camp will help with all of those things.
After my discussion, I decided for definate that I'm going to do it. I have an appointment Friday with him to sign up and he'll give me more information about the things I will be doing while "at camp". So, move aside Biggest Loser, this fat girl is about to enter the world of extreme workout!! Let's see if I'm so excited 4 weeks from now...LOL
Till next time. ;)
While browsing around on a gym website the other day, I came across a flyer promoting their "boot camp" services. The camp consists of a fitness program that's held three times a week for six weeks. The sessions are all 90 minutes long, and are basically guaranteed to kick your ass. The camp is run by several professional fitness "drill sargeants", that work on endurance, muscle toning, strength training and cardio.
If I had read a flyer like that 6 months ago, I would of said "ha! Yeah right!" That was not my reaction after reading it. I started getting that little excitement bubble in my stomach - and no, I wasn't hungry. I decided to send an email requesting more information. Today, I got a call from the camp organizer that is actually an ex drill sargeant from the army, by the way. He was really nice, really supportive, and gave me a lot of great information. The camp starts June 2nd, costs $249, and he thinks I sound like a perfect candidate. We spoke for about fifteen minutes about my progress thus far, my lack of current motivation to work out, and my desire for a challenge. He thinks the boot camp will help with all of those things.
After my discussion, I decided for definate that I'm going to do it. I have an appointment Friday with him to sign up and he'll give me more information about the things I will be doing while "at camp". So, move aside Biggest Loser, this fat girl is about to enter the world of extreme workout!! Let's see if I'm so excited 4 weeks from now...LOL
Till next time. ;)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Daily Dose of Crazy!
Before writing my post yesterday, I took a few minutes to read back over some previous posts. I soon realized that the blog had taken a shift from what I wanted it to be to what I feared it would become. I never intended to start this blog to record my weekly weight loss results - it was SUPPOSED to be a blog that shared my thoughts, feelings, and tips on how I'm losing weight. So, as of today, I'm going to try and update the blog daily. I want it to be more like a personal blog than a "informational" blog - but I do want to share some of the things that I do to make life easier. Each day, I'll try and come up with a topic to discuss - and we'll see how we go.
Today's installment: Breakfast
I'll admit it, I used to be the worst person when it came to eating breakfast. There are many excuses why - lack of time, too busy sitting at the computer desk, not hungry, etc. My personal preference when it came to breakfast was about 6 cups of coffee - and then I was good to go. That was until about noon when the hunger pangs set in. I would then find the nearest McDonald's or gas station to grab "a quick bite" which consisted of a nice fried something or other. Not good.
So, when I decided to start losing weight (again) I had to re-evaluate the whole breakfast thing. Now, here's where I have to disagree with all the "experts" out there that preach how important it is to lay out a daily meal plan so that everything is nice and planned out so there's no reason to skip breakfast. I tried it - I created my first week's meal plan, got up the next day, and then thought "I really don't feel like eating scrambled egg whites on toast". Immediate start of disaster. Now, don't get me wrong, I do make a weekly meal plan for dinners. It's so much easier to coordinate what's for dinner each day and know who's cooking ahead of time - so we plan dinners (will talk about some other time). Back to breakfast. So, here's a solution I found that WORKED: I decided to start looking at some options for breakfast that I could eat on the run. I was amazed at the options that were out there - and how much more appealing they were to me. So, here's what I suggest:
Find a few options that you find appealing for breakfast. My favs are Fiber One cereal bars (in yummy flavors like chocolate and almond), Weight Watchers muffins, Fiber One Caramel Delight and Raisen Bran cereals, Soy Joy fruit bars and toast with Smuckers sugar free jelly. Depending on my mood each morning, I grab the one that appeals to me the most. I have an option if I'm in a hurry, if I don't feel like taking too long to fix breakfast, and something if I'm home. I find that I now wake up each morning and think "today's a Fiber One cereal day" or "my blueberry WW muffins are calling my name".
So - today's daily dose of crazy in a nutshell?? DON'T plan your week's worth of breakfasts. Find a few options to keep around the kitchen, and then get up in the morning and grab something. Now, this only works if you actually GRAB something. Ditch the excuses - there aren't any good ones for my suggestion. If you're not hungry when you first get up - stick a cereal bar in your purse before you leave the house...trust me, the hunger will call eventually.
Till next time. ;)
Today's installment: Breakfast
I'll admit it, I used to be the worst person when it came to eating breakfast. There are many excuses why - lack of time, too busy sitting at the computer desk, not hungry, etc. My personal preference when it came to breakfast was about 6 cups of coffee - and then I was good to go. That was until about noon when the hunger pangs set in. I would then find the nearest McDonald's or gas station to grab "a quick bite" which consisted of a nice fried something or other. Not good.
So, when I decided to start losing weight (again) I had to re-evaluate the whole breakfast thing. Now, here's where I have to disagree with all the "experts" out there that preach how important it is to lay out a daily meal plan so that everything is nice and planned out so there's no reason to skip breakfast. I tried it - I created my first week's meal plan, got up the next day, and then thought "I really don't feel like eating scrambled egg whites on toast". Immediate start of disaster. Now, don't get me wrong, I do make a weekly meal plan for dinners. It's so much easier to coordinate what's for dinner each day and know who's cooking ahead of time - so we plan dinners (will talk about some other time). Back to breakfast. So, here's a solution I found that WORKED: I decided to start looking at some options for breakfast that I could eat on the run. I was amazed at the options that were out there - and how much more appealing they were to me. So, here's what I suggest:
Find a few options that you find appealing for breakfast. My favs are Fiber One cereal bars (in yummy flavors like chocolate and almond), Weight Watchers muffins, Fiber One Caramel Delight and Raisen Bran cereals, Soy Joy fruit bars and toast with Smuckers sugar free jelly. Depending on my mood each morning, I grab the one that appeals to me the most. I have an option if I'm in a hurry, if I don't feel like taking too long to fix breakfast, and something if I'm home. I find that I now wake up each morning and think "today's a Fiber One cereal day" or "my blueberry WW muffins are calling my name".
So - today's daily dose of crazy in a nutshell?? DON'T plan your week's worth of breakfasts. Find a few options to keep around the kitchen, and then get up in the morning and grab something. Now, this only works if you actually GRAB something. Ditch the excuses - there aren't any good ones for my suggestion. If you're not hungry when you first get up - stick a cereal bar in your purse before you leave the house...trust me, the hunger will call eventually.
Till next time. ;)
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