Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The "In-between" Days

We're still in the midst of the holiday season. If you are like me you've already made it through one of the most food intensive days of celebration and are preparing for the next. For me it was Christmas Eve and Day celebrations, now I have a few days before New Years festivities. Whichever winter holiday you celebrate chances are you've made it through the bulk of the major "eating days" and are preparing for the next.

Its hard to pass up all those left over cookies, nut rolls, cakes, goodies, and other sweets, but these "in-between days" as I like to call them can be the key to avoiding the typical 5 to 10 pound holiday gain. Use these days to refocus your healthy eating efforts. If you are the kind that likes to go visiting during this time of year, where you are offered treats at entry house, you can still be polite and eat a cookie, but opt for water instead of soda, alcohol, or blended drink.

Use the time you have to yourself to make the best healthiest food choices so when you are confronted by treaty treats the impact won't be as severe. If you keep in mind that the holiday its over and today is just another day (as far as eating goes) its easier to get back on track. It's also easy to let your workout regime slip during this time of year, making sure you get that metabolism boost will also prove to be worth the effort.

If you use a calorie counting website our App to help you stay on track, chances are you may have changed your goal to maintaining your current weight or only losing half a pound a week, today is the day to change your goal back to your typical weekly weight loss goal and keep at it until the New Years Eve party.

This morning I started off with yet another better breakfast....oh and my better breakfast did incorporate some left over holiday ham!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Goal #1: Achieved - Lose 20 lbs by My Birthday!

So, here they are, the dreaded "Before" shots. I'm looking forward to the after shots. I will try to update them after every goal date.
My original goal: Lose 20 pounds by my Birthday which is in the beginning of December.
My original weight was: 175

<----In this picture these are my stats:
weight: 172.5 lbs
Measurements: The tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches...
Bust with sports bra on: about 41 inches
Waist: 40 inches
Hips: ?? the tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches! How embarrassing is that?
Thigh: 22 inches





Goal #1 achieved and then some!
Today I weight 149.5 which is a total loss of 25.5 lbs so far!

In the picture to the Right, these are my stats! -------------->

Weight: 149.5lbs
I got a new measuring tape that went up well beyond 40.
Bust with sports bra on: 40 inches...
(whos says that the first place every woman loses weight? LOL)
Waist: 35 inches... yes folks, that's a 5 inch difference.
Hips: 39.5 inches.
Thigh: 20.5 inches.

HOW AM I DOING IT???

How am I doing it? I have been giving people the short and sweet answer because I've found that when I've tried to tell the all the details they stop listening as soon as I say the word exercise, but you folks are reading this for a reason so I'll give you all the details.

First of all, as many of you know I have been using MyFitnessPal.com to keep track of my calories and nutrients. (Yes, I know that sounds a whole lot like counting calories doesn't it? That's a lot of work. Most people's eyes glaze over when I say that and they stop actually listening, because, who wants to be bothered with doing something as tedious as counting calories?)

FITNESS TOOLS

Well, MyFitnessPal doesn't making it as tedious. I even have the app for it on my smart phone so all I have to do is search the data base for the item I'm eating or one similar to it and click the "Add" button for whichever meal I'm eating. It counts the calories and nutrients for me. And if there are times that I have a food that isn't in the database and I can't even find one that's similar to it it's just as easy to add a new food based on the stats on the nutritional labels. The other benefit of MyFitnessPal is that it's a built in support group. You can find people just like you fighting the same battle against weight loss, cheer each other on, give and received advice and tips, and keep track of all your progress all in one place.

My other weapon of choice is EA Sports Active 2. Ok, this was a gift from my dad who has heard me whine about wanting to get healthier and be in better shape. I love this game. One of the few video games I will actually play, mostly because it gets your whole body moving. I jumpstarted my weight loss by using the 9 Week Program built in to this game. It's was awesome!

When I first started I didn't think I would make it through the first workout, but I kept pushing through. This game gives you everything you need, a resistance band for building muscle, a heart rate monitor, and it keeps track of your stats within the game as well. You can get nutrition tips and keep track of your weight loss all within the framework of this game.

CHANGING THE WAY I EAT

I used to eat 3 planned meals a day and snack whenever I wanted to on whatever I wanted to. When I started my current job they provided breakfast and lunch for the children under my care and since I was their teacher I had to eat the meals with them. So I adjusted my schedule to include a small snack in the morning so I could eat breakfast and lunch at school with my children, then I'd eat dinner at home with my family, and once again snack whenever I felt like it. Which is one I could never lose the weight I gained from my pregnancy and in fact was adding more.

So, now I eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day. Each meal is planned as far as how many calories I can eat at each one based on the daily calorie goal caculated by MyFitnessPal.com. I start my day with a small health snack under 200 calories as this point, breakfast is under 320 calories, lunch is 500 calories, dinner is 450 calories, and my late night snack is 120 calories. Remember this is what I eat to lose about a half pound of weight a week at the current weight of 149.5. How much you weight now and the rate at which you want to lose weight would change your total number of daily calories which would also change your calories allotted per meal. Your daily activity during the day also plays a roll in the number of calories you can eat in a day, since I'm constantly running after 17 three to five year olds five days a week I consider myself to be lightly active which allows me to eat more calories then someone who would consider themselves to be sedentary during their work day. Again, these calories are all calculated by MyFitnessPal for me.

There are days I allow myself to splurge, but I track it all so I'm aware of how many calories I am going over my goal each day. If you've been reading my blog for a while I'm sure you've read the article on the benefits of splurging once in a while.

THE FORBIDDEN FOODS

I have none. Yep, that's right, there are no forbidden foods. I keep my focus on trying to eat the healthiest lower calories foods I can like veggies, lean proteins, fruit, water, etc. But I do allow myself to eat the things I love once in a while. I've had a Whopper Jr on occassion and there's no way I was passing up my sister's pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and I love me some chocolate every now and again. I've just gotten more disciplined ad when I allow myself to eat these types of foods. If I know there's birthday party coming up, I make sure the meals I eat during the day are that much healthier and lower calorie to make room calorically for the birthday cake and ice cream I might have at the party. And then, I try not to go overboard at the party. A small piece of cake a little scoop of icecream and log it all in MyFitnessPal. Along with my article on splurging is the explanation of how changing up your diet once in a while can actually be good for your body because then it doesn't become complacent. It doesn't get used to buring the same type of calories in the same way every day. If you don't completely deny yourself a certain food then you don't crave it as much. No cravings means no binging, no binging means better weight loss.

WATER

In the past few weeks I've been making it a point to drink more water. I will have an 8 oz glass as soon as I wake up in the moring with my multivitamin. Another 8 oz when I get to work in the moring, another 8 oz on my break if I get one and then several others when I'm at home. I have noticed a drastic increase in my weight loss since I've started drinking more water. As a matter of fact, even though

EXERCISE

As I've mentioned I have been using EA Sports Active 2 as my main workout regime, but I've also take the opportunity to get in some physical activity whenever and where ever the opportunity has presented itself. I've gone on many many walks with neighbors and friends, took part in a Zumba Class that was part of a training day at work, taken the long way or the stairs at my daughter's day care...etc. But don't think I'm someone who's working out every single day without fail. I started out workout out 4 days a week with EA Sports Active 2 as was part of the requirements for the 9 week program, but as my grad class become more intense during midterms and finals I found I've had less and less time for pretty much everything else in my. So, my fitness routine turned into a once a week event usually on Sunday. This is important because I was still aware that I needed to workout. I didn't just give up on trying to exercise. And now that I'm finished with my grad classes I'm going to start hitting it hard again as many days a week as I can.

PEOPLE

I can not tell you how important it is to surround yourself with positive supportive people. I'm very fortunate to have the family and friends that I do. They have noticed my progress and have kept encouraging me from the first noticible 5 pound loss where I am now. I've also learned how to ignore the neigh sayers and the negative influencers that try to tell me to eat more or give me excuses why you should not worry about tracking my calories or try to tell me that I don't need to lose any more weight. I have my goal in mind, a healthy goal and I am determined to stick to it.

DISCIPLINE

Adopting a healthier lifestyle has more to do with discipline than anything else. You have to be strong in your mindset to commit to your goals. Today, I can walk out to my kitchen to get my daughter something to eat or drink and see the chocolate cake sitting on the counter and not even feel tempted to eat it. When I go out to eat with friends, if I haven't planned the meals a head of time, I have the discipline to choose the healthier items on the menu. At this point, four months into this lifestyle change I actually prefer the healthier foods.

I also have the discpline to not let a rough spot get me down. I am committed to my weighloss goal. If I don't lose a half pound one week, I don't dwell on it. I keep in mind how much weight I've lost so far and get back at it the next day.

REALISTIC GOALS

In closing, I just want to remind all my readers old and new that my approach to weightloss and fitness is not meant to turn anyone into a super athlete. Nor is it some scheme to lose weight fast. This is a realistic approach for the average working person. A way to get healthier and stay healthier through simple lifestyle changes. The goals I set for myself and the changes I make to my lifestyle are all based in reality, nothing drastic. Which is why I have been met with such success for the past four month. I do not take any form of weight loss pill, I do not subscribe to any particular diet plan, to lose weight and keep it off, your plan of attack has to be one that you can sustain for an extended period of time... i.e. the rest of your life. Diet pills and restrictive diets do not fit that bill. The only supplement I take is a daily vitamin to help make sure my nutritional goals are met.