I coasted through spring, coming up with a million excuses about why I was letting myself get away with NOT doing what I knew needed to be done. And I'm still 12 pounds overweight.
ENOUGH! (That's what I tell Sadie to get her to stop barking.)
I know what needs to be done and I've started doing it.
1) I'm signed up for a 5k on July 8 - I don't think I'll be running the entire thing, but darn it, I'm not going to make a fool of myself!
2) I'm back to calorie counting - between 1300 five days a week and 1500 two days a week. I know this is what I've needed to do all along, but I've been whiny and lazy. Lame.
3) I'm making good physical decisions again. Yesterday, I wanted ice cream, so we walked the 2.5 miles to get it. Today, I needed to return a movie and get some agave syrup so I walked the 2.5 miles to do it.
It's not rocket science, but man, once you get out of the good habits, it is HARD to get back in them. And working in Corporate America does NOT help. Do you know how many donuts pass my face in a month? It's ridiculous. But last week, I found myself saying "NO." Practically out loud even. I don't even like plain donuts that much! Definitely not more than I liked Healthy Natalie!
I weighed in this morning at 157.8 pounds. My goal is 135. There, I said it. It's out there and I need y'all to HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE! If you don't read a post from 50n50 next Wednesday, call me out on it!
In 22 weeks - by Nov. 7, 2012 - I want to be at my new goal weight. And if the first ten pounds comes off at 2 pounds a week, you won't hear me complaining!
Want to join me? Let's do it together! I'll give you contributor powers and let you do this. I'll hold you accountable, too, if that's what you want. It's easier with friends so I would LOVE it if some of you decided to become a Lady in Weighting with me!
Here we go again, friends!
Showing posts with label counting calories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label counting calories. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
School days make me happy
I am so excited to go to school today. Mainly, I'm excited to get back into my usual routine. Spending time at home for weeks on end is nice - don't get me wrong. But it's been a constant battle for me - to snack or not to snack.
Don't get me wrong - I wasn't just sitting around doing nothing for the past 3 weeks. Besides work, I have done a lot around the house getting ready for this new semester. In fact, it was on the two days that I gave myself permission to just stay in bed and read and watch movies that I snacked less! Since I knew I would be sitting at home for days on end, I altered my eating style a bit. I focused on smaller meals to compensate for more snacking.
Also, as an experiment in maintenance, I stopped counting my calories at the beginning of December. Yes, you read that correctly. I decided to see if I could "do it" without counting every calorie I consumed. Silly me, it was a bad idea to do this during the holidays because there were so many different dishes crossing my plate. Since the start of the new year, however, I have managed to maintain my weight and even start back on the losing track over the past week or so.
But I feel a little out of touch with the nutritional information of what I'm eating. Perhaps this is one reason I've read articles advocating counting calories forever. Of course, the idea of that sounds a bit tedious to me. I certainly didn't miss writing everything down in December and January. Plus, I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to stick to my calorie allowance - holiday foods notwithstanding. But, I miss knowing some important information: How much calcium, protein, fiber and iron I'm consuming.
Sure, I read labels, but they don't add it all up for me. And you'd be surprised how hard it can be to get the recommended iron or calcium you need in a day! I might pop back onto Sparkpeople.com every few days and input that day's food to see how I'm doing.
Don't get me wrong - I wasn't just sitting around doing nothing for the past 3 weeks. Besides work, I have done a lot around the house getting ready for this new semester. In fact, it was on the two days that I gave myself permission to just stay in bed and read and watch movies that I snacked less! Since I knew I would be sitting at home for days on end, I altered my eating style a bit. I focused on smaller meals to compensate for more snacking.
Also, as an experiment in maintenance, I stopped counting my calories at the beginning of December. Yes, you read that correctly. I decided to see if I could "do it" without counting every calorie I consumed. Silly me, it was a bad idea to do this during the holidays because there were so many different dishes crossing my plate. Since the start of the new year, however, I have managed to maintain my weight and even start back on the losing track over the past week or so.
But I feel a little out of touch with the nutritional information of what I'm eating. Perhaps this is one reason I've read articles advocating counting calories forever. Of course, the idea of that sounds a bit tedious to me. I certainly didn't miss writing everything down in December and January. Plus, I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to stick to my calorie allowance - holiday foods notwithstanding. But, I miss knowing some important information: How much calcium, protein, fiber and iron I'm consuming.
Sure, I read labels, but they don't add it all up for me. And you'd be surprised how hard it can be to get the recommended iron or calcium you need in a day! I might pop back onto Sparkpeople.com every few days and input that day's food to see how I'm doing.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Still making adjustments
1200 calories a day just isn't cutting it.
I didn't think it would be that big of a deal - but it totally is. I just can't seem to get full. Sigh. By the end of the day, I just want to eat and eat and eat. While it could be PMS, I'm pretty sure I'm just hungry.
I lowered my calorie intake because my activity level is considerably less nowadays. You know, since I'm not walking 30+ miles a week anymore. The training regimen for Couch to 5k doesn't even have me burning 200 calories ye (the equivalent of walking 2.25 miles).
It looks, however, like I should increase my calories back to 1300 a day and augment the training to include more walking and calorie-burning activities besides the runs.
A girl's gotta eat, right?
I didn't think it would be that big of a deal - but it totally is. I just can't seem to get full. Sigh. By the end of the day, I just want to eat and eat and eat. While it could be PMS, I'm pretty sure I'm just hungry.
I lowered my calorie intake because my activity level is considerably less nowadays. You know, since I'm not walking 30+ miles a week anymore. The training regimen for Couch to 5k doesn't even have me burning 200 calories ye (the equivalent of walking 2.25 miles).
It looks, however, like I should increase my calories back to 1300 a day and augment the training to include more walking and calorie-burning activities besides the runs.
A girl's gotta eat, right?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A Science Diet
It doesn't matter why it happens - seeing the number on the scale go UP sucks.
I walked 34 miles last week - so I entered this week feeling good. I walked 6 miles Thursday at 4 mph, then walked 12 miles Saturday and 10 miles Sunday. I took Monday off (and I'll admit it - drank WAY too much beer) but was back to walking yesterday and added 5.33 miles to my tally.
So why did I gain three pounds this week?!?
I have a few theories:
1. Got a visitor yesterday. Sometimes I just hate guests!
2. I'm having some digestion issues - and haven't been able to get rid of them in a couple of days. But I'm hoping the oatmeal I'm eating right now does the trick!
3. Too many euphemisms can actually add to your overall weight.
4. I can feel the water retention (see number 1). Seriously, I know my potty habits and they are a bit off. I drank 40 ounces on my walk last night and have barely peed since. It was in the upper 70s so I didn't sweat it out!
And finally, it might be because of a little experiment I've been conducting all week ...
5. I took a break from counting calories.
Did your eyebrows shoot into your hairline? Is the look on your face best described as "shock and awe?" Well, before you think I've lost my mind, let me explain the experiment.
I've decided I might be leaning on SparkPeople.com too much for my weight loss. This is about making educated decisions when it comes to food. Not eating something at dinner because of what I ate at lunch, you know? But does that mean I will always have to calculate the calories I consumed after every meal? I hope not. Since starting 50n50, I have gained a lot of knowledge about the foods I eat. I can usually look at a meal and tell you how many calories are in it. So, applying my new-found skills, I decided to go the week without counting my calories. I focused on making good choices and just eating healthy. I did, however, write everything down so that I could go back and analyze my decisions.
Remember this from elementary school?
MY SCIENCE DIET
Purpose: Do I still need to count calories to continue losing weight?
Research: I have been counting my calories for 9 months now. I have a food routine, bad foods don't live in my house, and I know to look up new foods (like last night's dipped cone from Dairy Queen - a child's size has 190 calories!) before eating them.
Hypothesis: Surely, I am ready to make the proper food choices without tracking every calorie, every day.
Experiment: Stop tracking calories. Only look up new foods in order to make an educated decision. Write everything down and analyze the data on July 7 (today).
Analysis:
Wed: 1522; 222 over goal
Thurs: 893; 407 under goal
Fri: 1357; 57 over goal
Sat: 1396; 96 over goal
Sun: 2340; 840 over goal (Holiday - 1500 calorie day)
Mon: 1104; 196 under goal
Tues: 1532; 232 over goal
Weekly total: 10144; 644 over goal
Conclusion: My hypothesis was NOT correct. I am not ready to do this without counting calories. Because I allow myself 1300 calories a day during the week and occasionally give myself 1500 on weekend days, I should not have eaten more than 9500 calories last week (the week before I ate 9301). And I ate 10144. The amount of exercise is irrelevant since it is a constant variable that applies with the controlled calories (I've walked more than 100 miles in the past month!).
Admittedly, this does not account for 3 pounds of weight gain (to lose a pound you must burn 3500 extra calories, so to gain you must consume that much). There are other variables to consider, as mentioned above: water retention, digestion, monthly munchies, July 4th holiday. But these are all normal in our lives and something I need to learn to work around.
I can almost guarantee that I made better choices this week than I would have a year ago. And, looking over the data the extra 600 calories can be easily explained: 3 Schlitz beers, two glasses of wine and half a Magic Hat.
So, there you have it. Weigh Day showed me at 159 - a gain of 3 pounds. Perhaps one day (hopefully soon!) I won't have to count my calories, but something tells me it's important to fall back on it during holidays, menstruation, and alcoholic binging.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to log my breakfast calories. :-P
I walked 34 miles last week - so I entered this week feeling good. I walked 6 miles Thursday at 4 mph, then walked 12 miles Saturday and 10 miles Sunday. I took Monday off (and I'll admit it - drank WAY too much beer) but was back to walking yesterday and added 5.33 miles to my tally.
So why did I gain three pounds this week?!?
I have a few theories:
1. Got a visitor yesterday. Sometimes I just hate guests!
2. I'm having some digestion issues - and haven't been able to get rid of them in a couple of days. But I'm hoping the oatmeal I'm eating right now does the trick!
3. Too many euphemisms can actually add to your overall weight.
4. I can feel the water retention (see number 1). Seriously, I know my potty habits and they are a bit off. I drank 40 ounces on my walk last night and have barely peed since. It was in the upper 70s so I didn't sweat it out!
And finally, it might be because of a little experiment I've been conducting all week ...
5. I took a break from counting calories.
Did your eyebrows shoot into your hairline? Is the look on your face best described as "shock and awe?" Well, before you think I've lost my mind, let me explain the experiment.
I've decided I might be leaning on SparkPeople.com too much for my weight loss. This is about making educated decisions when it comes to food. Not eating something at dinner because of what I ate at lunch, you know? But does that mean I will always have to calculate the calories I consumed after every meal? I hope not. Since starting 50n50, I have gained a lot of knowledge about the foods I eat. I can usually look at a meal and tell you how many calories are in it. So, applying my new-found skills, I decided to go the week without counting my calories. I focused on making good choices and just eating healthy. I did, however, write everything down so that I could go back and analyze my decisions.
Remember this from elementary school?
MY SCIENCE DIET
Purpose: Do I still need to count calories to continue losing weight?
Research: I have been counting my calories for 9 months now. I have a food routine, bad foods don't live in my house, and I know to look up new foods (like last night's dipped cone from Dairy Queen - a child's size has 190 calories!) before eating them.
Hypothesis: Surely, I am ready to make the proper food choices without tracking every calorie, every day.
Experiment: Stop tracking calories. Only look up new foods in order to make an educated decision. Write everything down and analyze the data on July 7 (today).
Analysis:
Wed: 1522; 222 over goal
Thurs: 893; 407 under goal
Fri: 1357; 57 over goal
Sat: 1396; 96 over goal
Sun: 2340; 840 over goal (Holiday - 1500 calorie day)
Mon: 1104; 196 under goal
Tues: 1532; 232 over goal
Weekly total: 10144; 644 over goal
Conclusion: My hypothesis was NOT correct. I am not ready to do this without counting calories. Because I allow myself 1300 calories a day during the week and occasionally give myself 1500 on weekend days, I should not have eaten more than 9500 calories last week (the week before I ate 9301). And I ate 10144. The amount of exercise is irrelevant since it is a constant variable that applies with the controlled calories (I've walked more than 100 miles in the past month!).
Admittedly, this does not account for 3 pounds of weight gain (to lose a pound you must burn 3500 extra calories, so to gain you must consume that much). There are other variables to consider, as mentioned above: water retention, digestion, monthly munchies, July 4th holiday. But these are all normal in our lives and something I need to learn to work around.
I can almost guarantee that I made better choices this week than I would have a year ago. And, looking over the data the extra 600 calories can be easily explained: 3 Schlitz beers, two glasses of wine and half a Magic Hat.
So, there you have it. Weigh Day showed me at 159 - a gain of 3 pounds. Perhaps one day (hopefully soon!) I won't have to count my calories, but something tells me it's important to fall back on it during holidays, menstruation, and alcoholic binging.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to log my breakfast calories. :-P
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