Weightloss progress - week 2

Down 2.4 lbs this week to 185.8. I stuck with the 1400 calories, but I only did EA Active 1x this week. However, I did move a queen and full bed - which is a lot to do by yourself - I swapped rooms, box springs and all & put the queen be together. I also carried 10 12 packs of water and a 32 pack of water downstairs. I'm not feeling discouraged because of my lack of exercise, but I do need to do it, because it will help my weight loss and health.

How to Cheat a Little, Not a Lot at the Holiday Party

I thought this was an excellent post at Calorie Count and had to share it.

By carolyn_r on Dec 14, 2010 10:00 AM in Tips & Updates

By Carolyn Richardson

It’s that time of year when companies go out of their way to sabotage your healthy nutrition plans.  The annual holiday party almost never involves a focus on healthy food and drink, so we all need a refresher on denying eating every item served at this free for all feast.  We have all heard the adage everything in moderation, but a good holiday party defense for overeating, or shall we say over-cheating, has to be specific to be effective.  Put on your warrior hats boys and girls: we can survive the biggest temptation the rest of this year has to offer.

Big Spoon, Little Spoon
Use a big spoon to eat the foods that will make you full, and the little
spoon for the delectable ones that will only please your taste buds.  Big
spoon vegetables, meat dishes, and fruit salads.  Little spoon macaroni and
cheese and dressing, as well as any sauces like cranberry sauce and gravy.

Make One Plate Enough
While most will treat the holiday party as a buffet, do not go for seconds.
While there is no scientific research to back this, I can personally say
that the second plate is always filled with the less healthy faire that I
cannot get enough of and has absolutely nothing to do with my hunger.  Use
the time that everyone is standing in line for seconds to mingle and
socialize.  Ask for a mineral water at the bar with a hint of fruit in it
and make like your drinking.  One plate is enough any other day.

Eat Now, Drink Later
The college student in you knows this rule, but as an adult you may have
forgotten that to keep you from drinking too much, and to assure you stay
hydrated and sober, eat first, and drink later.  The UK’s Food Agency
website, gives some practical tips for controlling how much you drink which include avoiding salty snacks like chips and salted nuts and adding water and
non-alcoholic drinks throughout the evening.

Desert the Dessert Table
Give yourself a cut off for sampling desserts.  I did say sampling.  When it
comes to desserts, do not get a full serving of any of the desserts that are
high in sugars and low in nutritional value, rather sample a few small
slivers of each one and cut off revisiting once you have had a taste of each
one.  This will be hard as you see your co-worker going for his third piece
of pie, but the mirror and the way your body feels will be thanks enough
come the next morning.

The Countdown
Prior to the party, consciously plan to leave at a certain time.  As the
party is winding down, it’s easy to let boredom invite you to enjoy another
plate.  And quite honestly, after 3-4 hours in one place, you may genuinely
have a corner of your stomach that would like to eat.  Avoid this by
planning to leave before this happens.  Most, if not all of these people
will be at work the next business day, there’s no reason to be the last
person there.

Source

Week 1

Well, I did it. I kept under or around 1400 calories. Wednesday was a little hard, I had a work Christmas party and something happened where we ended up going out to eat. Just for fun, I weighed myself, and I had only gained 1/2 lb. from Wednesday morning to Thursday.

I missed one day of exercise last week, which I was kicking myself over, but then realized I shouldn't beat myself up about it. I can make it up.

Overall, I'm down to 188.2 lbs. That's a total of 2.8 lbs. That's a great first week!

Great Article: 5 reasons to use your muffin tin

An interesting fact early in the article: A recent study from Cornell University compared recipes in seven editions of The Joy of Cooking published from 1936 to 2006. Researchers found the average calories per serving increased for 17 of the 18 recipes analyzed due to a shift to larger serving sizes and higher-calorie ingredients.


http://caloriecount.about.com/5-reasons-use-your-muffin-tin-b478350

My Plan

I've done some reading online about setting up an exercise plan, so I'm going to outline it here. I need goals, a time frame, structure and to maintain the program, plus adjusting when I hit a plateau.

The following categories are from: About.com

Set your goals

• Goal weight 130-140 lbs.
• Exercise at least 5 days per week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday) Wednesday will be the only consistent day off (I watch a TV show on Tuesday that goes off at 10).
• Calorie intake: 1400 calories

Set a timeframe for your goals
Reach goal weight by July 31, 2011 (that's 34 weeks from today), which equals just under 1.5 lbs. (1.47) per week...which is, I believe, a healthy weight loss goal, and what is recommended for optimum health.

Figure out how to meet your goals with an exercise program
Exercise. EA Active More Workouts has a 6-week challenge. I believe this is a good routine that they have, it's just a matter of me making the time to do it. The Wii is hooked up to the TV downstairs, but we have another TV, I just need to make an effort to do the exercise, probably in the a.m.

What I need to do: adjust my bedtime and wake up time. Workouts tend to be 20-30 minutes, plus stretching. I will say that I need a minimum of 40 minutes for exercise. I will also need to eat something before (carbs: toast and fruit) and after my workout (protein; eggs). So that's at least another 20 minutes before exercising and at least 10 after. We're at 1 hour and 10 minutes now. I only need about 10 minutes in the shower and about 20 to get dressed and do my hair, we're at an hour and 40 now. Might as well make it 2 hours, because I also have to make lunches, but that usually falls in the 20 minutes to get dressed and do my hair. I need to leave by 7:30 a.m., so I need to get up at 5:30 a.m. I need to be in bed no later than 9:30 p.m., which won't be too much of a stretch because I go to bed at 10 now (but I read for about 20 minutes).

Structure your program
EA Active More Workouts

Maintain your program
Minimum 5 days per week, only consistent day off will be Wednesday each week.

Daily Routine
Set alarm for 5 a.m.
Eat carbs (toast and fruit)
Exercise
Eat protein
Shower
Get dressed
Make lunches
Do hair, etc.Work

The following is from: About.com

BMR Calculator
The how to: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Mine: 655 +  821.3 + 291.4 - 169.2 = 1598.5

Calculate Activity

• If you are sedentary : BMR x 20 percent
• If you are lightly active: BMR x 30 percent****I'm choosing this one as I start my exercise routine
• If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 40 percent
• If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): BMR x 50 percent
• If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 60 percent

BMR x 30%
1598.5 x 30% = 2074.02

I just downloaded the free app Calorie Counter which will sync with the website Calorie Counter. I don't have to have internet access when I put it into my iPod, and it will still sync up once I have access again. :)

Tired

I'm tired of complaining about my weight, to myself, and not doing anything about it. My jeans are starting to get tight and I REFUSE to buy the next size. Time to get off my butt and do something about it. Stop writing about it in this blog and do it! :)

What I really need is a weight loss accountability partner.

Photos

It wouldn't let me post it as a picture, sorry, you'll have to click on the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/profete/4046301733/in/set-72157621721051963

http://koningstuff.tumblr.com/post/1139679569/chris-thornley-illustration-2

The Holidays

It's that time of year...food, food and, you guessed it!, more food. I think I did pretty well on Thanksgiving. The number on my scale didn't change too much in the wrong direction...so that's something, right?

At Christmas time, more than any other time of the year, we all start to think of others rather than ourselves... I know! Go figure! On the radio station I listen to, KLOVE, they've had a few new songs - when I say new I don't necessarily mean just released, I mean songs that they haven't played before. Two of those songs are You Are More by Tenth Avenue North and What Love Really Means by JJ Heller

You Are More Video:


What Love Really Means Video:


I noticed today that both songs start out very similar, You Are More starts out with a girl crying in a corner and What Love Really Means starts with a boy crying in the corner...this is not my point here. My point is that both songs bring tears to my eyes...really makes me think of others. We really need to get out of our own little world and think of others...put them first, before ourselves. I know it's hard, it's a daily struggle for me, especially in marriage. It's not easy to put my husband and what he wants before my needs and what I want.

We are selfish, we learn it at an early age. We struggle with it all through our lives, some of us never stop being selfish and never will. Others try, even if we fail, we continue to try. It's not an easy journey, or easy to do. So, try to go above and beyond this Christmas season. Give back, give to a stranger, do something nice for your neighbor.

KLOVE, the radio station I mentioned earlier, does Make a Difference Monday. They encourage listeners to do something nice for someone, even a stranger. Buy that person behind you coffee. I've been doing my grocery shopping at Aldi lately. In case you don't what Aldi is, it's a grocery store where you pay $0.25 to get a cart (which you get back) and you bag your own stuff, helping them keep their costs lower, passing on the savings to consumers. Anyway, what I've been doing lately is if someone is in need of a cart when I'm returning mine, I just hand off the cart. They always try, and often insist, on me taking the $0.25, but I don't. I just hope that they're doing something too, small things can make a difference. It doesn't have to be anything big. I'm only doing $0.25 a week, but who knows what it's doing for that person I passed the savings on to.