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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 25 March 2009 07:04 pm |
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This is my first day on this website and my first time posting a diary entry. I think this will be a good tool to help me keep track of my progress.
I am currently 5'8" and weigh 185 pounds. My measurements are 44 bust, 38 waist, 44 hips. My BMI is around 28. My problem areas are my belly, inner thighs and upper arms. Oh and the dreaded double chin - hate that! I just turned 40 this month and am ready to get myself in the best shape ever. My goal is to lose 50 pounds and I intend to do it within a years time. I am motivated and determined which are the two key things I have lacked in the past. I started working out last week and it's been hard but great at the same time. My energy is definitely up. I'm feeling muscles being sore that I forgot I had, it's a good thing for sure. I've been doing some workouts from Fit TV. I think they call it Fit tv because it has given me some fits.  Especially when I did an hour long step aerobic workout. The svelte instructor was gliding over her step with enthusiasm while I was screaming obscenities at her because I could not keep up. Which I knew would be the case but I still stuck with it and did the best I could.
I am going to turn my unfinished basement into a workout room. My oldest son has a couple of weight benches and a gazillion free weights down there so it's off to a good start. I'm goint to put a tv, dvd player and a stero down there too. That will give me a lot more room for aerobics. It's hard to do them in the living room, it's just too small. I am going to work out today and then get started on cleaning up the basement so I can get it in order for work outs. It's a complete mess and there must be a gazillion spiders down there just waiting to jump on me. The walls and floor are concrete so I'll probably hangs some posters and add an area rug to pretty it up a bit too.
My highest weight was 250 pounds about 4 1/2 years ago. I got up to that weight by eating whatever I wanted and never exercising. I had 4 children and with each pregnancy I ended up fatter and fatter until I was a balloon of a woman. I knew I was fat and felt miserable about it but just didn't have much motivation to change. I was in a complete rut. I slowly started changing my eating habits then which allowed me to lose 65 pounds. - I never exercised to lose those 65 pounds. Though if I had I'm sure I would have been at my goal weight long ago. Live and learn! That equalled out to about 15 pounds a year, just by chaning my eating habits. I did things like replacing whole fat dairy for low or no fat dairy, cutting down on sodas, cutting down on sweets, not eating as much etc.... I wasn't perfect at this by any means. Sometimes I just had to have 10 cookies or that HUGE hunk of cheese, ya know. Those are still two of my food weaknesses. I look at pictures of myself weighing 250 pounds and I'm really disgusted. Really, I was that huge??? So I am proud that I have managed to lose 65 pounds but I still have another 50 large pounds to go. I know it's going to take a lot of work and I am up for the challenge.
I am going to do a little research this week. I'd like to find out how many calories I should be eating to lose and how often I should be changing up my workout schedule. I also want to right out some weekly goals to keep me on track. I am going to try and add a picture to this post. At first when I took the pics I was going to wear clothes that I felt made me look thinner but that defeats my whole purpose here. So, instead I wore clothing that I don't feel comfortable in because I feel they make me look my weight. So an honest pic - as reluctant as I am about it -
I'll be posting as often as I can. Michelle
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 26 March 2009 01:57 pm |
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Hi, Michelle!
It sounds like you have set reasonable goals for yourself. Losing 50 pounds in 1 year is a very feasible goal, and doing so will likely help you keep the weight off in the long run.
To accomplish this, you will need to lose roughly one pound a week, which can be accomplished by creating a daily deficit of about 500 calories.
Based on your stats, your unadjusted RMR is roughly between 1550-1650 calories per day. Your unadjusted RMR is an estimate of how many calories your body burns per day just to survive, based on gender, age, height, and weight, from basic functions such as breathing, the pumping of blood, etc. As such, unadjusted RMR is usually the minimum number of calories you should eat per day.
With your goal of a 1 pound loss per week, this sounds very feasible, perhaps even more if you combine it with regular exercise, which you should, because it has benefits far and above weight loss. Even 30 minutes a day should make a very notable difference. Make sure that it is a blend of cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises, but place an emphasis on cardio, as a challenging cardio session is the most effective fat burner. Start out slow with it and gradually work up, making sure to keep challenging yourself.
Also, the best exercise is one that you will stick with! Aerobics are a great exercise, but if they frustrate you, it will be harder to continue. Walking is free, and there are other cardio exercises you can do with little to do no cost, such as jumping rope, and there are a large variety of other aerobics, such as Turbo Jam and Tae Bo.
Cheese is a weakness for me, too. While cookies are not particularly part of a healthy diet, cheese has many health benefits in moderation. Stick with the lowfat rather than the fat free, since the fat free varieties often have added color. When it comes to diet, the more pure and natural the food, the better.
It's OK, too, to have a cookie from time to time. It's important to treat yourself on occasion. There is a balance between enjoying food as a part of life and still losing weight. This will also likely increase the chances of these changes becoming lifestyle ones.
You've come very far already, too. Make sure you take the time to look back and celebrate your accomplishments. Best of luck to you, and welcome to  !
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 March 2009 03:57 pm |
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Thanks so much for the info and words of encouragement CrimsonAnimus, I really appreciate it.
I tried low fat and no fat cheese in the past and was never satisfied with the taste but I recently found a low fat cheddar cheese made by Cabots that I really enjoy. The texture is a bit more waxy than I'm used to but it really tastes good. It's labeled as a sharp cheddar but I find it to be more like a mild cheddar, still yummy.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 March 2009 04:23 pm |
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Yesterday I was able to fit in a couple small workouts. First I followed an exercise program on the tele. It was a Bodies In Motion workout covering the whole body. It was only about 20 minutes long and wasn't nearly as intense as I would have liked but I still got my heart rate up, felt the burn and was sweating. Also last night my 13 year old son and I went for a 2 mile walk/jog. I pushed myself on the jogging part and was really suprised that I could go as far as I went- even though it really wasn't that far. If I had to estimate how far I jogged at one time I would say it was 1/8 mile. Not far by any means but I have really never jogged and I'm so out of shape - so for me it was a first step and I was proud to achieve such a miniscule milestone. My legs could have went a lot farther, it was my breathing that made me stop. Definitely need to work on endurance. I've read that jogging is a great way to burn more calories/fat and I'm going to incorporate it into my walking routine. I know that if I keep at it I will be able to go a little farther and a little farther until I can jog a whole mile. Seems like that day is far away but I know if I keep trying and challenging myself that I will be able to do it. Who knows, maybe one day I will run marathons. LOL!
I don't eat a lot and what I am eating is for the most part healthy. I'm worried that I'm not eating enough and that my metabolism is running at a slugs pace because of it. Breakfast has never been my cup of tea really. I've always heard it's the most important meal of the day but it's hard to eat breakfast when your're not even hungry. Also it seems that when I do eat breakfast I end up starving for lunch. I forced down some Kellogs cereal with a 1/2 banana cut up in it this morning at 8:30. Now at nearly 11:30 I feel incredibly hungry. Why does eating breakfast make me more hungry for lunch than if I didn't eat breakfast? It's weird.
I didn't start getting the basement cleaned up yesterday as I planned. I did at least go down there and make some plans on where I would put things for my workout area. I also inspected the spider situation and decided that I could suck them all up with the shop vac. There are literally hundreds of them, mostly dead but EWWWW even still.
I will be working out today and I pretty much plan to work out everyday. I want to get in an hour every day. If I'm feeling particularly sore or lazy I will still force myself to get up and do something, even if it's 15 minutes worth. I can do this darnit!
Oh yea I figured out my target heart rate so that will be useful in my workouts.
Guess that's all for today.
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Nancy_in_GA
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 27 March 2009 12:33 am |
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MichelleP wrote: ...Breakfast has never been my cup of tea really. I've always heard it's the most important meal of the day but it's hard to eat breakfast when your're not even hungry. Also it seems that when I do eat breakfast I end up starving for lunch. I forced down some Kellogs cereal with a 1/2 banana cut up in it this morning at 8:30. Now at nearly 11:30 I feel incredibly hungry. Why does eating breakfast make me more hungry for lunch than if I didn't eat breakfast? It's weird.
Hi Michelle,
Breakfast does exactly the same for me! In my case I think it has to do with yo-yo-ing blood sugar levels. I'm trying to force myself to eat some breakfast, too, and have found that more protein, less sugar, and less carbs in general helps. If I eat mostly carbs for breakfast, I'm starving for lunch.
Welcome to the forum!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 27 March 2009 01:54 pm |
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Nancy_in_GA wrote: Hi Michelle,
Breakfast does exactly the same for me! In my case I think it has to do with yo-yo-ing blood sugar levels. I'm trying to force myself to eat some breakfast, too, and have found that more protein, less sugar, and less carbs in general helps. If I eat mostly carbs for breakfast, I'm starving for lunch.
Welcome to the forum!
Thanks for the welcome Nancy. I did a little research into what you said and found that eating more protein and less sugary items may indeed help with the "starving for lunch" issue I have when I eat breakfast. I also read that feeling hungry not long after breakfast is a sign that your body is burning energy which is a good thing for sure.
I am hard boiling some eggs right now for breakfast. I am going to have a couple of them with some lean meat, low fat cottage cheese and possibly a small glass of juice. I will try having a more protein rich breakfast in the days to come and see if this helps me to be less hungry before lunch.
No exercise yesterday as planned. I was very tired and lacked energy. I know exercising can give me more energy but I was really just too pooped to pop. I don't think it was a big issue. My body was telling me to rest so I did. I'm picking up some exercise tapes from the library today. One is a step aerobic workout for beginners which should be more to my level than the intermediate step workout I was having fits trying to do from Fit Tv.
Goals for today:
- Eat a breakfast higher in protein and lower in sugar
- Make wise choices in eating throughout the rest of the day
- Get 1-2 hours of workout time in consisting of aerobics and/or walking in addition to some strength training.
I have a notebook started so I can keep track of my calories, write down weekly goals and fill with other weight loss/health issues. I haven't calculated yesterdays calories yet but I know they were lower than they should have been. Not many calories from eating I'm sure as I didn't eat much but I did have a few beers. I think there is a low carb beer out there. Have to research that one more.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 30 March 2009 05:20 pm |
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I got a beginner step aerobic workout from the library and tried it on Friday. I was feeling a little down because of raging monthly hormones and working out definitely made me feel TONS better. The workout tape was pretty good and gave me more practice on some basic step aerobic moves. I followed it very well and didn't scream at the instructor. It's a good basic tape but I still want something with more intensity. I used to do a Reebok Step aerobic tape back in the early 90's and I recently found that I can now get it on DVD so I will be doing that soon. Throughout the weekend I did the step workout another time and did some walking. I'm feeling good and my energy is still pretty high. It's a nice feeling. After a week and a half of working out I have already found that walking up the stairs in my home doesn't leave me out of breath as it did before. It's a good feeling. My energy is still up pretty high and I'm loving this feeling.
I ate pretty well over the weekend except for the homemade nachos on Saturday night. The highest calories and fat in the nachos came from the avacado. I know that avacados are chocked full of nutrition so I didn't sweat the high fat content which I'm pretty sure is the good fat anyway. I refuse to give up some foods that I love and I think that's perfectly fine. I ate them in moderation and still ended up keeping my calories low for the day. I'm still finding it hard to eat the 1500 calories a day that I can eat to lose a pound a week. My highest calorie day was 1490 with the other days being around 1200. I'm still worried about my metabolism being slow. I will try and add a couple healthy snacks each day.
I'll weigh in on Thursday because that's when I started on here last week but after that I'm going to change it to Mondays. Monday's just work better for me and allows me to make a full weekly goal chart.
I've been keeping track of every little thing I'm eating - writing calories and fats and such. Quite frankly it's kind of a pain in the #%@&! but I will keep it up for at least the next month so I can get more in tune to what I'm eating and learn a little more about the calorie content in things. Basically I know what's good to eat and what's bad to eat. If I'm going to have something bad (like cookies or pie) I am only going to have a very small portion of it. I'm not concerned with binging really. All in moderation right?
I went through my drawers and closet and pulled out all the clothes that were too big. I was suprised at how many fat clothes were still lurking around. I set aside some to donate and threw the rest away. It was a nice feeling.
I'm going to do this!!!!!!!!!!! I feel good!!!!
Goals for the week:
- Keep calories to no more than 1500
- Exercise 4 times this week for at least 1 hour each workout
- Keep positive
- Allow my kids to walk with me in the evenings more - they tend to go a little slower than I want to but they'll just have to keep up or lag behind
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 3 April 2009 02:58 pm |
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WEIGH in on 4/2 Thursday = 184
I met my weekly goal of losing 1 pound.  I've kept track of my calories, fats and workouts and here's the weekly update of everything.
Average daily calories for the week = 1330
Average daily fats for the week = 39.3g
Average daily fat % = 27%
Total weekly exercise time = 5.42 hours - 5 days of exercise
I only had 2 days of calories reaching the 1500-1600 recommended amount. The other days I had between 1000-1300. I'm trying to eat more but I'm still finding that to be hard. I'm told to eat more to lose more because of a sluggish metabolism. Seems crazy and I'm trying to wrap my mind around it. My appetite just isn't voracious. I know there are others fighting with weight loss because they are eating too much and I suppose they might want to slap me because I'm eating too less and don't understand it.
My average daily fat gram intake seems pretty high. The culprits this week leading to higher fats were ground beef, cheese, peanut butter and hemp seeds. I'm wondering if there is a lower fat version of peanut butter that I can eat. I really enjoy a piece of whole grain bread with some peanut butter spread on it. If anyone knows of a lower fat version or alternative to peanut butter please share this info with me.
I was suprised when I added my exercise time up. I didn't realize it was as high as it was. My workouts consisted of walking, walking/jogging, step aerobics and strength training. I just added in strength training the other day and will continue with this as I need the strength, toning and added muscle to burn more fat.
Of note to my self - the past week I was dealing with my menses and am still bloated. However I must say that I didn't get my normal headaches or cramps this cycle and I'm assuming that the exercise played a role in that.?? Anyone know if this might be true?
I am feeling good - the energy is up. I was exhausted a couple of days and didn't work out on those days, even had a much needed nap, but overall I feel the increase in energy. I had a couple of days where I was feeling a bit down and exercising made me feel LOADS better. Even after only 1 week of exercise I feel a teensy difference in my body. Mind you it's a teeny tiny difference but I feel it.  I feel a bit stronger and a bit tighter.
Other achievments for the week include: throwing away a huge pile of fat clothes, researching more on healthy eating and exercising and talking to a gym owner about some exercise issues. The gym owner sent me a 2 week pass to come check the gym and aerobic classes out.
GOALS for the next week include:
- Lose 1 pound
- Eat healthy and get fats lower than last week. If we have beef I will either have a smaller portion or I will eat something different. I will cut back on the cheese and cut down on the peanut butter or skip it altogether. I will also try to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my eating.
- Continue fat and calorie counting to make myself accountable.
- Do research into carb counts and also fiber content. Try to incorporate more fiber into my diet which I'm hoping will help with the bloating problem I tend to get.
- Read more labels at the grocery store so I can be more aware of the #%@&! in our food. Avoid as much processed #%@&! as possible.
- Exercise at least 5 days a week for an hour each day.
- Take advantage of the 2 week gym pass I received and visit the gym.
- Get the basement in decent order so I can get my workout area in order.
- Continue to be positive and stay true to myself!
Unless I have something I feel compelled to report or questions that I want to ask I'll probably be checking in here only once or twice a week. (probably Fridays because that's the day after my weigh in) I just don't have the time to come in here everyday and post every little thing that I'm doing or eating. With that said it's time to get outta here. Domestic goddess duties and workouts need to get done. I know it sounds corny but THANK YOU journal for being here so I can keep it real with myself.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 10 April 2009 03:36 pm |
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Hello journal - checking in for my weekly post. I'm finding this a good tool to keep myself honest.
My goal last week was to lose a pound and I succeeded. My current weight is now 183.
The scales actually weighed me in at 182 during the middle of my week but I'm sure that was only water loss so I'm not counting it.
Weekly average numbers
Average daily calories = 1396
Average daily fats = 32
Total exercise time for the week = 3 hours and 40 minutes
I was able to get my calories up a little this week and my fat grams down a little. However my exercise time dropped down. My husband and kids were on spring break this past week and I admit to being much lazier with everyone home. But even with less exercise I was still able to lose my 1 pound. So all in all a good week.
Last night I admit to eating pizza and drinking strawberry daquiris. The red sugar water margarita mixer packs a whopping 200 calories per 1/2 cup, and that's not including the added rum. Needless to say I had several drinks and they were delicious. Today I will be keeping my calories to the bare minimum to try and counter act yesterdays pizza and booze.
Around 14 years ago I weighed the same as I do now but I realized that I am fatter at this weight now. Why? Well, I had quite a bit more muscle then as I do now. So with that in mind I really want to step up exercises to work on my muscles.
I'm feeling positive about everything still. I'm not feeling deprived of food. I'm even seeing my children becoming a little more interested in eating better and in getting some exercise. I am not stopping - this is it for me - I am working towards a better me and there is no stopping......
GOALS FOR THE WEEK
- Lose 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
- Exercise 5 times a week for a total of 5 hours. Really try to get more strength muscle building work in.
- Keep track of calories and fats
- Visit the gym for a tour and start taking advantage of my 2 free weeks.
- Get my butt in the basement for the workout area clean up. (I've been dragging my feet on this for a couple of weeks or so)
- Check in here next week.
- Stay positive. What I'm doing is working, albeit slowly. Keep in mind that I am feeling good. I'm feeling stronger, more energetic and better about myself. I'm sleeping really good too.
Okay I guess that's it for today. I have lots to do. Thanks for being here journal. Au revoir!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 17 April 2009 05:32 pm |
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I'm here for my weekly check in. Things are going good and I'm happy to report that I actually lost 2 pounds this week instead of the 1 pound that I've been losing each week. So my weigh in for this week is 181. Woohoo 2 more fat pounds gone from my body. Here's my weekly averages for calories and fats.
Average daily calories = 1554 Average daily fats = 35
My previous weeks' average calories were in the 1300 range. So more calories this week definitely ended up in me losing more. I'm still amazed by that and still trying to wrap my mind around it. Mind you, I'm 40 years old and everything I ever learned in the past was to eat less and less to lose more and more. But since getting back into the swing of things everything tells me to not eat under 1500-1600 calories or I'll be sabatoging myself and my efforts. So even eating 1300 calories a week still enabled me to lose 1 pound a week. But if eating 1600 calories a week will keep me losing 2 pounds a week I'm all for it. That means that I could potentially reach my goal in half the time that I had originally planned. As everyone does, I'm sure I will hit plateaus too so maybe it won't only take half as long to reach my goal. But really, if I can get to my goal even a couple of months faster than I planned I would be freaking ecstatic. I've been so fat for SO many years that the mere thought of being thin within a year is f'n superb!
I will say that it was still hard to eat as many calories as I did this past week. So I need to figure out what I can add in regularly to keep my calories a bit higher. I was thinking maybe I could have a couple glasses of unsweetened juice each day. Juices seem to be higher in calories without adding fat, so maybe that's an idea I can try?
I put in a lot of exercise time this week, almost 7 hours worth. (this is a lot for me) I took a 3 hour walk at a park with a friend one day but that was after I weighed in and had already lost 2 pounds so I know that the extra exercise from the walk wasn't to blame for the extra pound loss this week. I'm hoping to be able to fit a long walk in like this each week or even every other week. The rest of my exercise for the week consisted of cardio like regular aerobics and step aerobics as well as strength training. Oh and I also got in a couple small 1-2 mile walks in my neighborhood. I picked up a half dozen more aerobic tapes from the library including some from Denise Austion, Kathy Smith and some Tai Bo ones. Except for some awkwardness in trying to do some of the moves I'm really finding that I love to do these workouts. They kick my butt and I feel FABULOUS afterwards, really gets the endorphins going. There's still some frustration when I can't do the moves right or as fast as the instructors going but I'm getting over that because I am determined to get it darnit!!
I have actually been able to see some small differences on my body. My very own eyes can actually see differences. My roll of back fat is a little smaller and my arms are a little smaller. I can see the slightest bit of definition in my upper arms. The day I noticed this I cried tears of joy. A small difference but it was an awesome feeling. I've been working hard and I could actually see a peep of results from it. Really awesome man!!! I took my measurements this week and found that I have lost an inch from my hips, waist and breasts. I've lost a little from my legs and arms as well from 1/4" to 1/2". Back in November I bought a shirt without trying it on. Well needless to say when I tried it on after I brought it home it was way too tight. The kind where it clings to your body and shows every roll. I liked the shirt and stuffed it in the top of my closet. I found it this week and tried it on and OMG, it now fits perfectly. #%@&!, that had me singing songs of joy for sure. So now I have a new shirt to wear, hee hee.
I did not make it into the basement this week to get it cleaned up for a workout area. I know, I know, I've been procrastinating like crazy about this for about a month. It's just such a daunting task...............
I also did not go to the local gym to start taking advantage of my 2 week free trial. I'm just not sure if joining a gym is the route I want to take. I can do strength training and aerobics right here at home. I can get out and walk, bike or skate right here from home too. So a part of me is like " why should I spend the money and time to go to a gym when I can do mostly the same things right here from home"? For less than the cost of a 2 year gym membership I can buy an exercise machine or two to put in the basement workout room. So I think I am leaning more towards not joining in which case I don't even want to go for the 2 week trial beause I don't want to have to deal with the sales pitch and pressure to buy a membership.
My goals for week 4 in this journey are:
- Keep my average calories in the 1500-1600 range.
- Keep my fats in the 20% of calories range which I think is good, though if I'm way off here I hope someone will let me know.
- Keep my daily calorie, fat and exercise log. I'm tracking everything I eat.
- Exercise 5 days a week for a total of 5 hours.
- Check back in here next week.
- Keep the positive attitude going.
- Clean the #%@&!ed basement so I can get my official workout area going.
On another positive note. My exercising has positively influenced my mother. She has come over twice this past week to burn some calories exercising with me. She has quite a bit more to lose than me and is really out of shape but I am proud to see her moving and trying. With that said I'm outta her for the week.
I will not go back to the dark side.
Peace out peeps
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Hisgal
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 17 April 2009 09:30 pm |
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HI Michelle *waves from MN*
Wow! You are doing great! I've been a bit busy, and hadn't gotten around to checking out your diary. But, now that I have, I see we've got kind of similar stories.
I started out at 247 lbs............lost the first 60-65 lbs without exercise............and right now I am at 184 lbs. However, I will be celebrating my 54th birthday in a few months, and I want to get down to about 140-145 lbs.
One thing I did when I started losing this weight (in 2002) was to keep reading and educating myself. I get several health magazines, and I still continue to buy new books to read about health and eating plans. I think that really helps to keep the information right there in front of me!
As I was reading through your diary, I think you are right..........exercise helps with the monthly PMS symptoms.
And if you need to add extra calories...............the juice will probably cause a blood sugar spike and subsequent cravings. I'd go with the real fruit instead. Or try a handful of nuts............choose the raw, unsalted ones, like in the baking aisle. Nuts are high in calories, so don't sit down with the whole bag..........just count out a serving. They do have fat........but it's the healthy fat, that we should be eating to raise our good cholesterol.
And they do make low-fat peanut butter, but if I remember right, the low-fat version has more sugar. So, I always buy the natural peanut butter, that's just peanuts.
Another snack I like is popcorn. Air popped has very few calories for a LOT of popcorn. But, I usually buy the mostly fat-free microwave bags........in single servings. It's still a lot of snack for 100 calories. And I think it's considered a whole grain.
Well, keep inspiring me with your wonderful progress, my dear! Maybe I can follow you on down the weight chart?
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 20 April 2009 01:40 am |
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| Hey, Michelle, welcome to CPH. Seems like you have some reasonable goals for yourself and an excellent plan to get there. I agree with you about the difference between joining a gym and buying equipment to work out at home. I belonged to a gym for about 3 years, and my bf at the time paid the membership... when we broke up and he stopped paying, I decided to end the membership b/c I could buy DVD's, hand weights, an elliptical, etc for the price of just one year's membership. Often you can find used equipment from others who went in all gung ho and then didn't use it. I am going to look at a treadmill that falls into that category hehe.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 20 April 2009 02:34 pm |
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Hello HISGAL and thanks for stopping by. Wow, we do have pretty similar stories. It's nice knowing that someone else has been where I have been and is now down to where I am down to.
I've been reading everything fitness and health related that I can get my hands on. I've found that there's quite a bit of conflicting information but the basics are pretty much the same across the board - cut out the #%@&! food and exercise. I have a thirst for knowledge and will continue reading everything.
I didn't find a low fat peaunt butter but I did buy a natural kind without all the added sugars. The kids don't like it as much but tough! Since I'm the grocery shopper and the cook the whole family is getting healthier right along with me. Still have issues with red meat as my husband totally LOVES it but I am buying leaner versions of it.
Eating nuts is a great idea that I hadn't really thought of. I do eat hemp seeds and find them to be a really good source of the good Omega fats. They kind of remind me of pine nuts. I imagine nuts have the same good fats and I'll consider adding more of them into my eating plan. I'm sure raw fruits are better than juice so I'll try to incorporate more of them into my eating plan as well. Maybe I can add a couple hundred calories each day by making a yogurt & fruit smoothie. I'd also like to have a juicer again. We used to have one a long time ago and I remember how delicious fresh juice was, it was so different than store bought juice.
Thanks so much for your info and words of encouragement hisgal, I truly appreciate it!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 20 April 2009 02:38 pm |
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Hi MJ36 - Thanks for your insight about gym vs home workouts. I've decided to not join the gym. There is a place called Play It Again Sports that sells used exercise equipment and I will be checking them out soon to see what equipment they might have.
I'm not much of a social butterfly so I'm not interested in socializing at a gym anyway. I like working out by myself in my own little world so I can really concentrate on what I'm doing. I think working out at home will be the best choice for me.
Thanks again for sharing your opinion with me, it's great to hear from you!!!
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 21 April 2009 02:27 am |
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| Haha, I am definitely not social when it comes to working out. I just want to do what I came to do and leave. When I belonged to the gym, I always kept my music on and hardly talked to anyone because it just took time away from my purpose of being there. At home, I can get into my "zone" and don't have to worry about social graces- or what I look like haha. I bought a used treadmill tonight for $250. There are some great deals out there. Good luck finding some!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 21 April 2009 11:38 am |
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I can totally relate to that. I used to go to the gym ancient years ago when I was in my 20's and I basically had tunes plugged into my ears the whole time. It seems that there were always people there who went just to socialize and maybe spend 10 minutes on a treadmill. Not my game plan at all.
The only problem with working out at home so far has been family distractions. I'm a stay at home mom and generally have been getting my workouts done during the day when everyone is at work and school but sometimes I can't do one until the evening when everyone is home. I don't like working out in the evening anyway as I've already used up a lot of my energy throughout the day. I find that I have to push myself hard to do one at night. The kids want to follow me and during my workout an arguement of some sort breaks out between them. It's kind of like how kids are when a parent is on the phone. Before a parent gets on the phone the kids are fine and want nothing to do with the parent but the minute they get on the phone all #%@&! breaks loose and the kids want the parents attention. Same thing usually when I do a workout with them around. This typically ends up with me screaming for them to get out of the room. Fun times.
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 23 April 2009 04:11 am |
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Haha, I hear ya about working out when the kids aren't around! I am usually home by 4 ish, but wait til after we eat and my son goes to the boys club (every night, he's a sports freak) before I work out- usually around 7 p.m. The solitude is so much easier and I don't to answer questions, feel awkward, fetch something, etc. I put on my headphones and it feels like I am alone in the world for a little bit! Unlike you though, I am a total night workout person. I can work out at 10 p.m. and still crash an hour after. I hate getting up in the am and no way would I ever get up early enough to get the workout done before work! If I can do the workout right after, that seems to get it out of the way before my excuses set in!
Good luck with this week's weigh-in!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 23 April 2009 04:00 pm |
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Dear diary, (sounds so corny, like I'm 12 or something ) This will probably be a long post.
Today's weigh in = 179
This is the end of week 4 of my new healthier life and I'm here to check in. I'm so happy to report a 2 pound loss this week. I got on the scale about 10 times over and over again because I had to be absolutely sure that I was seeing the numbers right and indeed I was. So I am out of the 180's and I'm not looking back for even a minute. Goodbye 180's I won't miss you at all. Hello 170's it's nice to see you again as it's been a LONG time - and 160's I'll be seeing you soon in approximately 1 1/2 - 2 months. My God it's working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm such an emotional sap and just typing this info in is making me tear up. Happy tears of course. It just really feels good to be working hard and making things really work for myself. It's SUCH a good feeling. YAY!
My averages for the past week are:
Average daily calories = 1532 Average daily fats = 41 Average daily fat% = 24
Just like my last check in I was able to get my calories up to the 1500-1600 range and was again able to lose 2 pounds. My fat intake was higher than any previous week and it didn't affect my weight loss. Though I do want to keep my average fat grams lower than what they were this week. The culprits to higher fat this week were butter, oil, beef, eggs, cheese and mayonnaise. The eggs and cheese are good protein sources so I don't feel so bad about having the fats from them. The beef bothers me somewhat but even that didn't contribute So much. It was the #%@&!ed butter, oil and mayonnaise that contributed the most to my higher fats this week.
I make this chicken broccoli casserole that we love. It consists of skinless chicken breast, broccoli, cream of chicken soup, mayo, cheddar cheese and onions. I made a 9x12 pan full of it and calculated all the calories and fats and was amazed at how many calories and fats were in this once seemingly healthy dish. Well the whole pan of chicken broccoli contains 5640 calories of which 3627 of them are fat calories, making this dish 64% fat. OMG. I cut it up into 12 equal portions and figured that one measly portion has 470 calories and 33.5 grams of fat. I did eat one portions worth and it was absolutely delicious. In the past when I have made this dish I would have had 3 portions worth which meant I was eating 1410 calories and about 100 grams of fat, just on one dinner. I really had no idea. I have a low fat mayo but it's really kind of blah. I'd love to find a low fat mayo that tastes close to the full fat mayo - as of yet I have failed to find one. I will continue searching....
Other than the bad chicken broccoli and some oil and butter I've been eating very well. I upped my fiber quite a bit this past week and thought that it would help in being more regular in the bathroom. Well it had the opposite effect and left me really bloated for days. So bloated that it hurt. I did a little research and found that when you increase your fiber that you should do it gradually not all of a sudden like I did. Increasing it all of a sudden will lead to gas and bloating as your body needs time to adjust to increased fiber. After a few weeks your digestive system should be able to handle it more easily. Since I've already increased it I will keep at it and be confident that my body will adjust to it within a few weeks.
I finally managed to get the basement cleaned up and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had envisioned. There were a lot of spiders and other creepy crawlies around but the large majority of them were dead and the ones that were alive were not the big ugly hairy spiders, just the puny little wispy spiders. Sucked them and their 9 miles of webs up into the shop vac.  We have 2 weight benches and a bunch of weights down there that were already there from my son. We added our old big screen projection tv, stereo, dvd player and couch down there. So now I can workout while jamming to some good tunes or do aerobic dvd's with plenty of room. Yesterday my son got 2 punching bags from a friend and those are in the basement too. I'm looking forward to using them for sure. In May I will be looking around for an exercise machine of some sort to add to the workout room. I'm just not sure what I want to get. I know I don't want a treadmill as I find them to be dreadfully boring. I don't mind recumbent bikes so that might be an option. I've also been been wondering about elliptical trainers and that may be a possibility too. I've never used one so I'm just not sure about them. If anyone has info or advice on elliptical trainers I'd love to hear from you. The weather is getting nice and I'm looking forward to checking out some yard sales again, hoping to find some colorful pictures that I can put in the basement to pretty it up a bit as concrete walls are drab-
My workouts this week consisted of boot camp type aerobics, step aerobics and strength training with free weights. The step aerobic workout that I'd been doing for 3 weeks wasn't kicking my butt as much so I added a riser to my step. Boy, that really did offer up more of a challenge. My legs definitely felt the difference and felt really tired afterwards. I did more strenth training this week which left me more sore than previous weeks. It's all good and I know that working hard is paying off. Not to mention that after a workout, no matter how hard it seems while doing it, I feel So freaking good. Love it!
I decided that I am not going to join the gym and I'm fine with it. I can get to my goals working out at home and so that's that.
I tried on some new jeans at Walmart this week while I was picking up some groceries. I figure I will probably do this every few weeks as part of my obsessiveness. I tried on a pair of 13's and a pair of 15's. The 15's fit good in my waist and belly area but were looser in the legs than I like. I can get the 13's up, zipped and buttoned but they were very tight in the waist/belly area. My body's definitely an apple shape so I'm bigger in the gut. Heck I was just happy I could get them zipped and buttoned without having to lay on a bed or anything. So I'm thinking that with another 10 pounds gone I'll probably be able to wear those size 13 jeans and will probably buy them. I currently have only 1 pair of jeans that really fit me good. They are a size 14 and came from Old Navy. I have a few pairs of size 16 jeans but they just went into the donate pile as they are really too big. If I take them right out of the dryer I can wear them for about an hour before they start falling down off of me. So I guess I'm a size 14-15 at the moment. When I weighed my most at 250 I didn't own a pair of jeans, all I wore were elastic waist sweat pants and the like. I figure that I would have probably wore a size 26 jean then. - I looked at a size 26 jean when I was shopping and compared it to the size 13 jean. OMG what a big difference.
Something else I wanted to mention. I haven't had any sweets cravings. As a matter of fact I haven't had any food cravings at all. This just dawned on me yesterday. So what I've read is true - that if you eat healthy you won't be getting cravings for #%@&! food.
I'm going to make brownies this week using applesauce in place of oil. I told my husband that you can replace applesauce for oil in baked goods and he gave me one of those "that will make the brownies taste like #%@&! looks". So I am going to try it this week without him knowing and see if it really makes the brownies taste that different. A girlfriend made cupcakes for my 40th birthday and used applesauce in place of the oil and they were deliciously moist. I'll let you know if my hubby noticed a difference.
Okay I guess this is long enough and I have tons to do. These are my goals for the coming week, week 5 in my journey to a new healthier body and mind. They are basically the same as they have been.
- Lose 1-2 pounds of fat blubber from my body.
- Exercise 5 days this week for 4-5 hours. Include 3-4 days of strength training and at least 4 days of aerobics/cardio.
- Keep my weekly average calories in the 1500-1600 range.
- Keep fats at about 20% average for the week.
- Keep my fiber up to the recommended amount.
- Drink more water.
- Continue logging calories and fats to keep myself aware.
- Check in here next week to keep myself honest.
- Keep this positive attitude going. I CAN do this and it's awesome!
Keep it real - peace out peeps - Michelle
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 April 2009 01:54 am |
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I think the elliptical's movement is hard to get used to, so you might want to go try one out at a sports shop or a gym before getting one. I do love mine!
Glad to hear that you lost two lbs, AND that your pants are getting too big! I always find that the misses sizes (12, 14, 16) fit me better than the juniors sizes (11.13.15) with my apple shape. I really like the old navy pants a lot, they fit my shape well. Maybe you can find some new ones for spring in a size 12 if you keep losing!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 April 2009 12:08 pm |
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Okay so now I know the difference in womens clothing. The difference between misses and juniors sizing. Guess I just haven't been paying attention to that .
Thanks for the info mj. My Old Navy jeans are awesome fitting too and since they are a size 14 I'm assuming that they are a misses size. Okay think I got all that.
Speaking of sizes I want to say this. Every pair of jeans that I've had from a size 16 to a 22 have always been horrible fitting. Even if fitting good in the waist the butt and upper legs are always baggy and the crotch hangs a mile down. What's up with the mile long crotch anyway? Just because someone's fat doesn't mean they have a huge butt, legs and crotch. From someone who's been there I have to say that plus size clothing could be much better. Just because one is fat doesn't mean they want to dress in ill fitting clothes. I'm not even going to start in on plus size clothing styles. There are some cute plus size clothes but for the most part they remind me of something my grandma would wear.
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Javan
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 24 April 2009 03:47 pm |
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Hey Michelle, Good to have you here and to see that you are progressing right along.
I too struggled with the idea of the gym membership vs. doing things at home. For me, I went the route of buying a bike and riding to/from work in nice weather (20 mile round trip). That did wonders! Then the gf gave me a Pilates video tape that I memerized and still use when I am in the workout mode.
Regarding the documentation of your daily intake, etc. I am fanatical about it, but only during the week, since I usually do not find time to do it on the weekend, and I find the weekend is usually my "slack time" (maybe a beer or two and some pizza). I say this because, before I cook something, I will put it in my spreadsheet and see how the nutritionals stack up. If it looks real healthy, then I will make it and not worry if I have more than one serving!
Keep up the good work and remember that this is not a temporary diet exercise. This should be a retraining of your mind and body for the rest of yor life. After all, do we live to eat, or do we eat to live?
Good Luck!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 April 2009 05:39 pm |
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Hi Javan and thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts. Beer and pizza, yummy! I keep track of everything I eat or drink, even on the weekends. It's still kind of a pain but it really helps me keep everything in order.
I absolutely know that this is not temporary. I know that I will have to eat healthier and exercise for the rest of my life and I am embracing that whole heartedly. At this point I can't even imagine going back to a sluggish, cookie devouring lifestyle. I'm feeling way too good. Thanks again Javan.
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 25 April 2009 05:35 am |
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Michelle, I totally hear you about clothing sizes! I am apple shaped, with skinny legs (when I was at my heaviest I used to say I was built like Humpty Dumpty). If I bought clothes that fit my waist, they hung on my legs and hips. I find that I can usually find a better fit now, because I have more options since I am not limited to plus size stores. When I find a brand of jeans that fits well, I usually look for that one when I go shopping again, since the cut will usually be similar.
You're doing a great job! You should be really proud of your efforts so far.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 1 May 2009 02:28 pm |
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Hey diary -
I'm here to report for my weekly check in. Keeping myself honest here.
Weigh in = 179
These are my weekly averages for my own records:
Average daily calories = 1450 Average daily fats=36 Average daily fat%= 22
*My average daily calories went down and I was not able to keep them in the 1500-1600 range that I am trying to do. Again! My fats were a little lower than last week but still higher than I want them to be. That darned red meat and cheese were to blame yet again for higher fats. If we are having red meat for dinner this coming week I will opt for a large salad for myself instead. That will help get the fats down to a lower level that I am seeking.
* I got good exercise time in this week - 4 1/2 hours worth. This consisted of aerobics on 4 days and strength training on 3 days. I feel that I worked a little harder than normal, pushed just a little bit more. My body feels tighter all around. Strength training combined with a loud Metallica Cd playing is good for my soul.
I admit that I was disappointed when the scale did not register a single loss for the week. I'm a certified scale junky and I'm trying hard to overcome that. Regardless of what the stupid scale registered I once again can see a difference in my body this week. My tricep flab, saddlebags and side/back roll all look a bit smaller this week. Also my thighs seem to have a little more definition to them. I pulled out the tape measurer and sure enough I have lost in my arms, bust and thighs. So take that stupid scale!!! LOL!!! I'm not sure why the scale didn't register a difference even though there is definitely a difference. Maybe I'm holding in some water???
I'm still finding it hard to eat enough. I've been reading and have read that I should be eating every 3-4 hours. That hasn't been happening. I generally eat breakfast at around 8:00am, lunch at around 1:00pm and dinner at about 6-7pm. At this rate I'm eating every 5-6 hours or so and I am not having any snacks in between. So I will be trying very hard to get a light snack in between meals.
The only negative I can report on this week is that my energy has been down quite a bit. After two of my workouts this week it was all I could do to stay awake. So maybe a combination of less food, less sleep and a little stress have kept me down? I have slept a little less but not by a lot.
My goals for the coming week (week 6) include:
1. Lose 1-2 pounds of fat
2. Keep calorie average at 1600.
3. Watch fats more closely and cut out the red meat.
4. Exercise 4-5 days for 4-5 hours. At least 4 days of cardio and 3-4 days of strength training.
5. Check in here next week to report progress.
6. Have a light snack in between meals.
Also on another note. I made brownies this week using applesauce in place of the oil. Everyone noticed that the brownies were not as good. They definitely had a more cake like consistency rather than the chewy fudgy consistency that we love. So next time I will try using half oil and half applesauce and see if that helps. Even using half the oil is better than all of the oil.
Okay I guess that's it for now. I did have a few more things I wanted to add but I just don't have the time right now. Until later..............
Michelle
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 4 May 2009 06:58 pm |
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Hi, Michelle!
Yeah, the scale does not always reflect our progress. With a strength training regimen of 3-4 days per week, it is quite likely you are gaining muscle. You can tell your body is changing, and your measurements are going down, so you are losing fat.
While it's optimal to eat more often, you can still lose quite a bit of weight eating 3 times a day. If anything, try to add some casein protein a little while before bed. Milk and yogurt are great sources of this. Casein protein is slow digesting, and if you add in a little bit of fat, it will digest even more slowly, helping to give your metabolism a slight boost while you are sleeping.
I don't really advocate relying on beef as a staple of any diet. Eating the lean (93/7+) does make a big difference, and eating the natural variety (such as Laura Lean) likewise makes a difference, but it still should be kept in moderation, perhaps once a week at most. As someone who grew up eating beef 3-5 times a week on average, it was difficult to break that cycle. Try putting other lean meats in your diet, like chicken breast and fish, as well as non-meat sources of protein, such as beans.
My energy level stays pretty low, too. Are you sure you're not overdoing it? I have done that on more than one occasion, and have found that not only does it tear your body down, but also makes your healthy lifestyle a bit less sustainable long-term. You seem to me like a very motivated individual - keep at it, and you'll get where you need to be, eventually.
One more note - with the exception of abdominal muscles, it is more usually considered more beneficial to NOT work the same muscle group two days in a row. With your strength regimen being every 3-4 days, you might already know this - just wanted to throw it out there.
Stay focused, and great job!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 6 May 2009 12:36 pm |
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Hi Crimson and thanks for the post.
I'm definitely toning up and seeing changes in my muscles so I'm TRYING hard not to let the no decrease in the scale get me down. I mean how can I get really discourged when I'm seeing and measuring differences? Though I still want to see the scale go down. I will definitely keep my regimen up and I know that the scale will eventually have to measure losses as well.
I do know about resting my body parts with strength training and I am doing that. I do my upper body one day and my lower body the next day so I'm getting that rest in.
That's interesting about the milk/yogurt casein protein. I'm not much of a milk drinker but I do love yogurt. Red meat only 1 time a week is something I can deal with. I know ideally I should probably not have any and that could be something I could do in the future. Or maybe I could enjoy a hamburger or steak once every few weeks. As for meat my diet mostly consists of chicken breast and turkey so I'm on the right track with those items. I am having 1-2 cans of tuna a week but would like to add in different varieties of fish for the whole family. The only problem with that is that fish tends to be pretty pricey. I would also like to find some good fish recipes.
Thanks for the words of encouragement they really do mean a lot to me.
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CrimsonAnimus
Moderator
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Posted: 6 May 2009 07:15 pm |
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You're very welcome.
Yes, it definitely looks like you are on the right track. Chicken and turkey are great choices - just watch the sodium, especially on the turkey. Watch out for nitrates and nitrites on the turkey, too. They are in most luncheon brands of turkey. If you can buy the turkey breast and cook it yourself, it will be a bit healthier, but I've found it a bit hard to find this, in my area, anyway.
Back when I used to eat luncheon turkey daily, I would get Hormel. They sell a brand that is minimally processed, and does not have nitrates nor nitrites.
I'm a firm believer that our body can filter out many things that are not ideal for us if we limit them in our diet, and eat clean most of the time. I've gone over a month without red meat, which is probably the longest in my life (since I've been grown, anyway, LOL). I love it, and am not prepared to never eat it again. I figure that once a week is a good guideline for me, too, and that it is a vast improvement over 3-5 times a week. One nice thing about committing to an overall healthy diet is that we can incorporate other foods from time to time without feeling like it is taking over our diet.
Tuna is a great choice. The only real concern with seafood, in general, is mercury content, but 1-2 cans of tuna a week are not likely to be a concern. Farm-raised varieties of seafood tends to have higher mercury, so I always tend to get wild caught. I love salmon, but like you, I need to try other varieties, too, and I totally agree about the price.
Keep it up, you're doing great!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 8 May 2009 02:43 pm |
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Another week and another check in. I am glad to report that the scale showed a 1 pound loss. Weigh in = 178 
These are my weekly averages:
Average daily calories = 1582 Average daily fats = 40 Average fat % = 23
My calorie count went up for the week and was the highest amount of calories I've been able to eat since I've started checking in here. I met my goal of staying within the 1500-1600 calorie range. It was easier to eat more this week because I just seemed hungrier than previous weeks. I actually could have eaten more but I was able to keep it under control. This was the first week in the past 6 that I did have one day where I let myself indulge. On Sunday I fixed myself up a small plate of cheese and crackers with this great mustard and devoured it. It was heaven I tell ya
My fat grams were the 2nd highest since I've been keeping track. I've been really trying to keep my fats low, around 20 grams per day and I'm consistently failing on that goal. It doesn't take much food at all to reach 20 grams of fat. Two tablespoons of peanut butter and you're just about there. Or have just one avacado, which I SO love and you're over 30 grams of fat. I know both of these foods are healthy and the fats they contain are the good ones. I did some more reading about fat grams and how much one should have. Of course there is contradictory info out there, as always, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't have to obsess about fat grams like I have been doing. If I stick to 20-30% of my calories coming from fat then I should be fine. Which is what I have been doing and I'm still losing. I knew this but for some reason I still had the 20 grams of fat per day thing in my head. Okay enough on that.
I got in 5 days of exercise for a total of 5 hours and 5 minutes. Yea, I'm counting those 5 minutes. My workouts consisted of 5 days of cardio and 4 days of strength training. For cardio I did some walking, interval training, step aerobics and low impact aerobics. Srength training included using free weights and the weight bench. I always do heart rate checks when I'm doing aerobics to make sure I get in the range I need to be in. I started doing heart rate checks with my strength training this week and got a suprise. My heart rate is just as high if not higher when I'm doing strength training as it is when I'm doing aerobics. Which was so strange because when I'm doing aerobics I feel like I'm working so much harder than when I'm strength training. Maybe it's because of all the sweat and the heavy breathing - my percieved rate of exertion or something. I guess the being more out of breath thing makes me feel like I'm really working hard. So if my heart rate is up in the zone when I'm strength training then wouldn't that mean I'm getting an aerobic workout out of it too? Usually I do my aerobics and then follow them with strength training. For this week I'm going to try splitting them up more. Do aerobics in the morning and strength training later in the day. I'm thinking that this could be a more calorie buring, metabolism reving move????
I didn't notice any differences with my body this week. Though my husband told me a couple times that my butt is getting more muscly, which is a good thing. I'll take his word on it. It seems like I notice some small changes every two weeks so maybe next week I'll see something new and exciting with my body.
I'm going to college to be an RN and for the next two weeks I have to take a basic health care class that I have to go to every day for 8 hours each day. I'm a little worried about when I'm going to get workouts in these weeks. Once I get home from class I'm going to have to do all the stuff I wasn't able to do when I was in class. (dinner, laundry, shopping, cleaning etc....) So how do I fit a workout in? I don't want to do it at 11:00 at night. I thought that maybe I could walk during lunch but I hate to come back to class all sweaty and gross. I also thought about getting up extra early and working out in the morning before classes. I'm just not sure how well that would work. Get up extra early to exert myself, I'm not really into that but maybe. I guess I need to sit down with my family and let them know that they are going to have to pick up some slack the next couple of weeks because I HAVE got to get my workouts in. I'm sure to hear some groans from the kids bt that's normal when it comes to helping out more. Okay so talk to the family and set a plan in motion for the next couple of weeks so I can stay on track. Good deal!
My goals for the next week are the same as normal.
1. Lose 1-2 pounds of fat.
2. Keep calories within the 1500-1600 range.
3. Keep fat grams within the 20-30 % of calories - ideally more on the lower side.
4. Exercise 4-5 days getting in 4 days of cardio and 4 days of strength training.
5. Gather the family together and divy up chores and duties so that I can be sure to get my workouts in without everything in the house going to #%@&!.
6. Check in here next week to keep myself honest.
7. Try to get some snacks in between meals but don't beat myself up about it if I don't do it everday.
8. Really put forth more effort to drink more water. I tend to hold it in and everything says to drink more water to get less water retention.
9. Limit red meat consumption to once this week. I was able to do it this last week so I know I can do it this week.
10. Keep the positive attitude going - it makes all the difference in the world!
Okay that's it for now - I've got several errands to run, a house to get in order, a workout to get in and some artistic work to complete.
Thanks journal for being here for me. This really is a good tool for keeping me honest. It's been nice hearing from others on the boards too. I only wish great success to everyone. Peace out dudes
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 8 May 2009 10:23 pm |
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| Yes, those 5 minutes of exercise count... what if that was the amount it took to give you a loss??!!??? Good luck fitting in your workouts next week. Do you get a lunch break that you could use to walk? Or maybe you could do it before you even get in the car to return home and get bombarded by all those things that are waiting to be done!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 15 May 2009 07:59 pm |
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Checking in to report on week #7 in this getting thin and healthy journey.
Weighing in at 179 which is a pound higher than last weeks weigh in. Yes, I cussed at the scale and wanted to kick it but it's not it's fault. It doesn't know that I'm bloated as all heck and I figure when I get this bloating down I will be at least what I was last week and quite possibly down another pound from that. I'm having my monthly female curse and I usually have a lot of weight fluctuation those weeks because of bloating. Ain't it a joy girls? Men are SO fortunate!
Anyway.... Here's my weekly averages for my records:
Average daily calories = 1617 Average daily fats = 32 Average fat % = 18
This is the highest calorie average since I've been keeping track but still within my goal range and still low enough that some loss should be happening. I'm going to push it down a little for the coming week though as I'm still a little worried about the scale showing more weight, even though I know it's the bloating. Still brain washed about the scale I guess.
My fat gram percent was the lowest since I've been keeping track though I did have a really high fat day once this week. Not fretting about it and glad to keep my percent in a low range.
My exercise time definitely lacked this week. My goal was to get 4-5 days of workout time in and I only managed to do 3 days. Which is the least since I've started this journey. This was the week that I was worried about getting exercise time in since I had class every day all day and didn't want to work out in the evenings. The monthly curse has left me really tired and I didn't sleep well a couple nights which added to the tiredness. Excuses?? No I really have been beat this week. The 3 measley days that I did work out were hard enough and I really had to force myself. Each workout day consisted of cardio and strength training. I normally do a 45 minute cardio session but each session this week was only 20-30 minutes. I have to do the school thing all day every day next week too and I'm again considering getting up extra early to workout in the morning. Still have doubts about that - but I do have more energy in the morning than I do in the evenings so maybe I can force myself to do it...???
I did take my measurements this week and everything is the same as it was last time I measured. Also I didn't notice any changes in my body this week. Though I will say that each day I did strength training I was sore the day after so I know that things are still happening with those little muscles I'm toning up.
I could really go for a nap right now but I've just go so much to do. I'm planning on an early bed time tonight for sure. I'm going to log outta here and go do a 45 minute step aerobic tape. That will either get my energy reved or make me completely exhausted. At any rate I have much to do after that so I will prevail.
My motivation is still strong and I refuse to quit on myself. That's not to say that it's easy because it really isn't. This week has certainly proved that for me. Having too much to do and not enough time to do it really wears one down. Only one more week of the all day every day school thing to get through and then I can get back to a more normal routine. Okay I guess that's all I've got to say for now.
My goals for the week include:
1. Lose 1-2 pounds
2. Lower my calories a bit and keep them within the 1400-1500 per day range.
3. Keep my fat in the 20-25% range.
4. Exercise at least 4 days with cardio and strength training each day.
5. Get more sleep
6. Keep positive and motivated
7. Check in here again next week
8. Do a little research into detox and juice fasting. This might be something that I would like to do once every couple of weeks or so. Don't know enough about it to say but do want to learn more about it.
Thanks journal - talk later -- signed sleepy girl
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mj36
Senior Member
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Posted: 16 May 2009 01:41 am |
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| Michelle, it's so great that you keep your focus and remain motivated even in the face of the little (and big) challenges that spring up along the way. Eyes on the prize, you will get there!! I love that you set goals for the coming week. That's a great way to refocus and plan ahead.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 19 May 2009 08:57 pm |
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Hi MJ - My eyes are TOTALLY on the prize. Failing is not an option for me and giving up has never even crossed my mind. I have the determination which is the one thing I lacked for many many years. There have been several catalysts that led my mind to this point, without them I would probably still be sitting on the couch. But finally this is it for me. This is my time to do it. That's not to say that I haven't been discouraged or even slightly depressed because I certainly have. Sometimes it's extremely hard work to pick my butt up and do a workout. Sometimes I don't want to keep track of calories on everything I eat, it gets tedious. Sometimes it's really hard to pass up what everyone else is eating in favor of a healthier meal. Over the weekend I SO wanted to grub out on greasy, meat and cheese covered pizza with the rest of my family but I held back. Instead I opted for 2 slices of veggie pizza. Not nearly as good as the other stuff, I'm sure, but still not too bad. I keep on going because I really want to get myself in fantastic shape. In the back of my mind I still want to lose 30 pounds in one month but I know that isn't going to happen. So I just have to keep going week by week and before I know it I'll be where I want to be. God, it is hard work but the pay off will be so freaking worth it. I can't believe how much lighter and stronger I feel after working out for only 7-8 weeks. I can only imagine how awesome I'll feel after doing this for a whole year.
Just wanted to add something that I read recently. When I workout I usually do my cardio first than strength training afterwards. I read that it's better to do strength training first than cardio. That if you do it this way you will burn the most fat. I forget the exact reason why but I'll post that in my weekly journal update later this week.
Also the class I've been in is having a pot luck on Friday. There are several different ethnic foods that will be brought in from this diverse group and I've decided that I am not going to eat like some crazed dieter. I am going to eat, which doesn't mean that I'm going to totally grub out or anything. If need be I can always get an extra walk in or lighten up my food intake the day after. This day wil sort of be a celebration of our hard work in the class and apparently this group wants to celebrate with food. So I guess I will participate and enjoy myself. By the way I'm taking in a cheese/fruit tray.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 May 2009 02:09 am |
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This is week #8 check in here. My weekly averages are listed below:
Average daily calories= 1229 Weekly fat % = 26%
Weigh in 179 .... yet again......
This has been the lowest average calorie week yet. I haven't felt so good this week and have had several headaches. Not sure why - several people in my class have been sick so I've probably caught some of their sick cooties. Kept my fats within my goal percentage. I had 4 days of exercise this past week including cardio and strength training. Cardio consisted of aerobics, both low impact and step. Strength training work was done with free weights and using the weight bench.
For the past 4 weeks my scale weight has basically stayed the same. I was down a pound one week but back up that same pound the next and still sitting there. This week I have measured some more losses with the tape measurer. About 1/4- 1/2 inch in each of my arms and thighs. Also more losses in my breasts, which totally sucks. I've noticed a few small changes this week. My butt seems tighter and rounder where the butt goes into the thighs. I've also noticed a little line of definition on the sides of my thighs, especially when I walk. So again the scale is not showing any losses but the tape measurer is. So I am not at a stand still because things are still shrinking.
Regardless, the past couple of days I have really been feeling down. This has a lot to do with my progress as I had expected to be lower than I am at this point. I've been working really hard. I've been eating healthier than ever and I've worked out more than ever. As of yesterday (Friday) I have been rebelling against charting my food intake ( servings, calories and fats). I also haven't exercised since Thursday and I don't plan on doing it today or Sunday either. That's three days in a row with no exercise, the most I've gone between workouts since I started working out. But just let me say that because I have not charted my food does not mean that I have been going crazy and eating everything in sight. I've barely ate anything really as I'm still not feeling very good, probably about 1000 each of the past 2 days. I'll be lucky to get that much in me today. I've even skipped breakfast the past 2 days. Very low cals, skipping breakfast,not charting my food intake and not exercising for 2 days - yea I know none of these are good things. But like I said - I'm having a short moment of rebellion.
Okay so in a #%@&! mood about all of this I decide to look over the past 2 months of my daily eating journal that I keep here at home. I wanted to see if there were any patterns or anything noticeable really. Well there were 2 weeks that I lost 2 pounds each week. During each of those weeks I had the least carb foods and the most proteins of any weeks since I started this journey. Also the past 3-4 weks I've had the most carbs and lower protein with no change on the scale. Okay, so I found something and this leads me to believe that higher protein and lower carbs works best for me. Finding this info from my food intake charts made me feel better and gives me something to work with. So, I am definitely going to lower my carb intake and up my protein intake. We'll see if that speeds up my fat loss. I'm glad that I've been keeping good records. Speaking of good records - on Monday (maybe Sunday) I will resume my food intake charting like normal. The rebellion will be over. So on my next check in on Thursday or Friday I won't have my normal average calories to report as I'll have missed some days but I will get that back on track the following week. I will check in at the end of this coming week with my weigh in weight and just chat about how the week is going.
Except for the past few days of mental breakdowns, I've still been keeping a positive attitude about this weight loss journey. The past couple of weeks have been tough because of the all day every day class I've been taking. It's totally screwed with all of my normal schedules. Sunday will be the last day of clinicals and then I can get back to a normal week and let me tell you I am SO SO looking forward to it.
On a previous post I mentioned that I read that if you do cardio and strength training in the same workout period that you should do strength training first. Well according to what I read the reason for this is that when you do the strength training you burn glucose and some stored fat. Then when you do the cardio you burn all stored fat. I don't know if this is true but it's what I read. I did my last workout in this order and will do it with workouts this coming week. Okay time to get outta here.
My goals for week #9 -
1. Lose 1-2 pounds of fat
2. Keep calories within 1200-1550 range each day.
3. Keep fats within 20-25% range average for the week.
4. Work out at least 4 days- doing cardio and strength training each day. Push myself a little harder too.
5. Lower my carb intake and up my protein intake. Whole grains and lean meats only.
6. Do some more research on carbs and proteins - learn all I can.
7. Check in with my journal here on Thursday or Friday.
8. Forgive myself for rebelling against my food journal and exercise for 3 days and get back to work on Monday. I will do this!
9. Stay focused and keep thinking positively. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's already gotten closer and as long as I give it my all and keep moving towards it I will get there.
Thanks so much for having this site. It's been really good for me. Everyone else out there I wish you all the best this week.
Peace out dudes!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 May 2009 12:12 pm |
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It's Tuesday, May 26th and I'm back on track after a few days of rebellion.
I'm feeling much better and I'm back to keeping my personal food journal and exercising. I just needed a very small break to rest my brain and pull myself together. AHHH much better now! Ready to face the world full force!!!
During my 3-4 day rebellion I ate very healthy and did not go overboard at all. I've been eating lots of chicken and salad. This isn't my normal weigh in day but I weighed myself anyway. The scale shows 178 this morning. That's back down a pound. I also measured myself to make sure everything was the same. I measure everything but today I just did a bust, waist, hips check. They were 42-37-42 1/2. My big apple waist is always one of the places I lose from the slowest.
I have a very busy day ahead of me. Dr appointment for me, dental appointments for 3 of my children, post office visit, grocery visit, etc.......................... There's a workout planned in there as well and I will get it done. I know it's going to feel fabulous.
I hope everyone is keeping themselves on track. If not it's okay, just get back on track real soon. Thanks for being here journal!
Michelle
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Hisgal
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 26 May 2009 11:28 pm |
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Hi Michelle.............I applaud you for sticking this out with a family to take care of. It's not easy to make time for yourself! I've been hanging there at 180.0 this past week. Thanks for sharing the info on resistance/cardio........that was interesting. It's the way I usually do it..........I head to CURVES first, then to the park to the walking path. Patience is so hard to learn..........I want all the lbs gone NOW!
Keep up the journaling and charting...........it helps to look back and see what worked. Sometimes we find that we are eating too little. I know others on this site, who hit a plateau........bumped up the calories..........and started losing again. You might consider this if the scale stays constant for you in the weeks ahead.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 29 May 2009 08:57 pm |
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Okay time to check in. I don't have my normal averages because I was on rebellion mode so just some chatting today.............
Oh yea, I do have a weigh in number and it is 176 which is a 3 pound loss from last week. Being the scale junky that I am, you know that makes me happy.
I posted on Tuesday of this week and was ready to chart my food and exercise that day. It didn't happen on Tuesday but I am glad to report that I got it going again yesterday, Thursday. So I am officially back on track with my food journaling and exercising. I was a little reluctant to work out after a week long break as I was sure that it was going to be grueling. Well it wasn't, in fact it was fabulous and I felt so alive all day. I worked out in the morning even before eating and really felt fantastic.
I've put my lower carb eating theory into practice since last week and I believe it's working. I'm not going drastically low mind you. I've been doing small things. For instance when I normally have a sandwich I would have 2 pieces of bread (like normal people do) but this week when I've had a sandwich I've only used one piece of bread. If I've had starchy foods I've had a smaller portion etc... I've been watching my carb intake all around and have probably cut it in half the past week. I've been reading a ton of info on carb and protein intake and let me tell you there is so much contradictory info out there I don't know what to believe. All I can do is take in the info, try different things and see what works best for me. I read through some stuff at Atkins and found out that during their induction phase you can only have 20 grams of carbs a day. I went grocery shopping and read labels like crazy to see carb content in all kinds of food. OMG are you kidding me only 20 grams of carbs. That is so incredibly low. I eat healthy adult type of cereals and the lowest carb one I could find had about 25 grams in 1 cup. So if you were doing the Atkins diet that one bowl of cereal would put you over your carb limit for the day. Seems crazy low to me. I'm not sure what limit to stick to but in addition to calories and fats I've also started keeping track of carbs and proteins in my food journal. I think this will help me get a better picture of how my body responds. I also read an interesting thing about carbs and apple body types. (which I am) It said that people with apple body types have a harder time processing carbs and this tends to show itself more in the belly area. So from what I've learned this week about carbs and what I discovered in my food journals from my biggest weight loss weeks I think that consuming lower carbs is better for my body. I'll keep testing this theory out and see how it goes. Also I'm picking up the Atkins and South Beach diet books from the library. Not to actually do the diets as I don't believe in actual diets but just to read the info they're putting out there.
My goals for the next week (week 10) are like other weeks. Keep my calories within the 1200-1500 range. Keep fats within 20-30% of calories. Exercise at least 4 days including cardio and strength. Keep reading and researching nutrition info. Lose 1-2 pounds of FAT. Keep track of carbs and proteins and keep the carbs lower. And finally stay positive because this is working.
OMG one last thing and it's getting me teary eyed. About a month or so ago I journaled that I had been trying on a pair of 13 junior jeans at the store every couple of weeks. At that time I could get them on, buttoned and zipped but I could not have worn them as they were way too tight. Well I am extremely happy to report that those same jeans now fit me. I couldn't believe it myself. Since I first reported on those jeans I've only lost 3 scale pounds so it seemed impossible that they would now fit, but they do. I thought it was a fluke and that they were stretched out or something so I even got another of the same jean in the same size to make sure. They fit the same. So again I'm reminded that the scale doesn't show all the progress going on with my body. I've lost inches and thats what made those pants fit. I also tried on some size 12 misses skirts (button and zip kind) and they fit too. Also I noticed this week that my favorite size 14 Old Navy jeans were bagging off my butt and waist and I had to keep pulling them up. I hadn't worn them in a couple of weeks because the class I was taking required uniforms. So there you have it. So I can officially say I'm a size 12 misses and a size 13 juniors. My god it's been a long time since I was able to get into these sizes and let me tell you it feels awesome. In two more weeks I'll start trying on the size 11 juniors jeans and size 10 misses jeans. Woohoo..... one small step for moi!
Okay I have a 25 page Powerpoint presentation to get working on and I must get outta here.
HISGAL thanks for stopping by and offering up some words of encouragement. It's truly appreciated. And no it's certainly not easy to get everything done that one needs to get done with a family. Life is much tamer this week and I'm feeling much better. Though I could use some extra sleep. Keep working hard and I know you'll get under 180 - only one pound to 179. Glad to hear that your working out hard! Thanks so much!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 5 June 2009 03:40 pm |
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Back here to check in on my progress for week 9 of my healthier life journey. I am once again very happy to report another 3 pound loss putting my weigh in at 173. I can hardly believe it myself. I can see the 160's getting closer and closer and it really feels freaking awesome!!! I'm SO SO SO looking forward to buying a new wardrobe when I reach my goal, which is still 38 pounds away. That goal is getting closer and doesn't seem too far away anymore. I've also found that I need to pull out some too big clothes again and get rid of them. What a great feeling!
I met my goal of keeping my calories in the lower range with a weekly daily average of 1293 calories. My fats however were higher than ever with a weekly daily average of 59 grams. Yea, really high for the calories putting me at about 41% fat. Though I must say that I have been eating mostly good fats from peanut butter and nuts and the like. My exercise time was really sucky this week. I officially only worked out on two days but did have a day of helping my grandma move so I figured that was worth some exercise value. I will rev that back up this week as I have no excuses to not be working out more. Just laziness.
I've been continuing to test the low carb theories into weight loss and I totally blame my 3 pound loss this past week on my lower carb eating. I'm averaging about 65 grams of carbs a day which still seems pretty low to me and the only thing I'm feeling slightly deprived of is fruit. I'm still eating fruit but not nearly as much as before. There was one day where my carb grams went over 100 and the very next day I weighed in a pound more. So that day I stuck to a very low carb day and by the next day I was back down a pound. So I attibute it all to carbs. There has been no other explanation. I've had more fat than any week since I've started this and my exercise time was really low yet I still managed to lose 3 pounds. I even dropped an inch off of my hard to lose area, my waist. If I wasn't already convinced of eating low carbs I totally am now. I've been reading Atkins, South Beach and some Low Carb books that I got from the library. All the medical claims in the books make for some interesting points though I don't know how valid the claims are. During the one day where my carbs were over 100, well I had cereal for breakfast - not long after that I felt starved. Later that day I ate rice with some homemade Chinese chicken. I had about 1 1/2 cups of rice. I got totally stuffed on that meal. But about an hour after I was feeling hungry again so I munched on some grapes. Then another hour or so goes by and I'm totally craving something sweet. So I ate another bowl of cereal. Something that I've been reading in the low carb books is that eating high carbs makes you feel hungry sooner and can give you cravings for sweets. Well that is exaclty how my higher carb day worked out. I ate more but was hungrier and craving sweets. Yet another point to further convince me that low carbs is the way for me to go. I can't argue with the progress I've recently been getting.
I've been paying attention to what my family is eating. I've been paying paticular attention to what my 13 year old son has been eating lately. I wouldn't call him obese but he is definitely overweight. What I've noticed with his eating is that he is eating a ton of carbs everyday and this is probably adding to his weight problems. When he wants something to eat it's generally something high carb and over processed. My husband and 2 youngest children are thin though they do have a slight belly paunch. They tend to eat a fairly large amount of carbs. My oldest is the thinnest in the house and he is the one who tends to eat the most protein and the least amount of carbs. This gives me a better picture of my families eating habits and possibly sheds even more light on carb effects on the body. (Or at least the carb effects on my families bodies)
So all of this reading and studying my own and my families eating over the past week has me thinking really hard about trying the 2 week Induction Phase of Atkins. I'm very curious to know how much I could lose cutting my carbs to 20 grams per day. I'm just not sure if I could cut it down that low. Also I'm kind of scared to lose 8-12 pounds in 2 weeks. Seems SO fast and I'm fearful of gaining it all back the week that I go back to 65 grams of carbs per day. So maybe I can try cutting my 65 grams of carbs to 45 and see what happens? I don't know. I will at least keep my carbs in the 65 range and see if that continues to be good for me.
This weekend will wrap up my spring quarter of school. I have a presentation on the Japanese culture to give on Saturday in my Cultural Diversity class. Then on Sunday I have a state written and skills test to take and pass to get my STNA certification which is a pre-requisite for the Nursing program that I am applying to. I'm hoping to get accepted into the Nursing program this fall. For now I will be so glad to be done with this quarter and am looking forward to having the summer off.
My goals for the next week are:
1. Lose 2 pounds of fat.
2. Keep calories in 1200-1600 range.
3. Keep fats to about 30% of calories but don't freak out if they are more due to eating good fat foods.
4. Keep carbs to a max of 65 grams per day. Try to go even lower and see if I can hack it. Continue to read about low carbs.
5. Exercise at least 4 days this week consisting of cardio and strength training.
6. Search for fish recipes and try out at least one of them. Also find some lower carb dinner recipes that the whole family would enjoy.
7. Check in here again next week.
8. Keep the positive energies up!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 5 June 2009 03:45 pm |
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Just wanted to add that when I lose 8 more pounds and I'm at 165 I will post new pics of how I'm looking. That will be a 20 pound difference from my first posting picture here.
Okay that's it. I'm just stalling now...........so much to do today........
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Hisgal
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 5 June 2009 06:09 pm |
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Hi Michelle...........me again! I just caught up on your diary again.........I tried Atkins and South Beach for a while, but that was about 6 years ago. I did really well on Atkins for the first month or so, but seemed to plateau fast on it. I think it's a good idea to track protein, carbs and fats along with the calories. It gives you a better picture of what you are eating, and makes it easier to analyze what's working.
I find for myself, that I lose much better when I eliminate the starchy carbs from my diet, or at least limit them to only 100% whole grains, and don't overdo on them. I try to eat mostly whole foods........concentrating on the veggies. I don't count carbs anymore, as I tended to limit veggies when I did..........so I just aim for lots of veggies, and limited breads, pastas etc.
For breakfast, could you do Egg Beaters? Or fat-free yogurt? Or cottage cheese? They should be lower carb........and enough protein to stick with you, so you don't get hungry again so soon. Also, another thing I tried a year or so ago, was to cycle my carb days, which is kind of what I'm doing now, except that I'm not tracking the carbs to know how many I'm eating each day. I did lower carb days and others a bit higher, but never really high ones. It worked pretty well.........I think I allowed myself cereal (whole grain only-like oatmeal) 2-3 days a week, and then bread (again 100% whole grain only) 2-3 times a week.
Otherwise, what you are doing seems to be working great! I can't wait to see the new pic at 165! And I did finally break into the 170's last week. So exciting! Hope we both see the 160's soon!
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 15 June 2009 05:55 pm |
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I'm a few days late posting my weekly (week 10) update. It's been pretty busy but I knew I had to get in here and update so better late than never right?
My weigh in which was on Friday was up a pound from the previous week to 174 which is pretty good considering that it was TTOM. Throughout that week the scale was up even 5-6 pounds more because of it being TTOM. It amazes me that one can get so bloated during that time. Anyway, done with TTOM now and back on the scale this morning shows my weight back to 173. I'm still dealing with some water retention that I can feel in my hands so I'm assuming once that gets out I'll actually see a further decrease on the scale. Last week was a pretty good week as far as eating goes. I ate well and my averages for calories, fats, and carbs were all low and mostly within the range I was aiming for. My averages for calories was 1200, fats were at 30% of calories and daily carbs averaged 84 grams.
I did pick up some cookbooks from the library. (I love the library) I got a few lower carb cookbooks and a sugar-free and gluten-free baking cookbook. I can't wait to try some of the recipes in the baking book as I would so enjoy some cookies but I need to stock up on some new pantry items before I do that. I'll need to make a trip to Whole Foods to get most of the stuff from the book. I really love the Whole Foods grocery store and I wish there was one closer to me. I have to drive about 25 miles or so to get to the nearest one. I guess I could check out Giant Eagle and see if they have some of the healthy baking items I need. Okay enough blabbering....
I only had real exercise 3 days which is down a day than my planned goals. Last week during TTOM I was pretty much an emotional wreck with a ton of stress and I had to really force myself to work out the 3 days that I did. And of course after my workouts I felt fabulous, at least for a little while. So this week I'm going to push myself harder with the workouts. I spent Saturday night walking around a lot downtown during a festival and Sunday was spent in the front yard gardens moving plants around, laying new dirt, putting in mew mulch etc... I definitely got a workout in the garden.
From my last week goals I did not find a good fish recipe yet but I'm sure there's some in the cookbooks I got from the library. I kept my calories and fats in the range I was shooting for. My goal was to keep my carbs no higher than 65 and maybe even try to go lower. Well that didn't happen and I averaged 85 carb grams. After a lot of reading I've come to the conclusion that my carb intake doesn't have to be set at some super low point constantly. My carbs were up last week because I ate fruits and some good bread. My body needs the nutrients that fruits and whole grains provide and I'm going to eat them darnit. I will still definitely keep my carbs in check as I do think that they have an impact on me but I'm not going to obsess and worry about it if I have a grapefruit and 2 slices of whole grain bread one day. I have to be real with myself.
I got through my final presentation in Cultural Diversity class and it was a breeze. Which totally shocked me because I usually hate giving presentations. I ended the quarter with an "A" grade in that class. I also had to do my skills test for the STNA class for nursing and I'm still waiting for the results on that one. I was fairly nervous doing that test but I think I got through it okay. There was also a written portion of that test that I'm a bit concerned about. It was harder than I expected so I'm crossing my fingers on that. I will get the results any day now. This coming Saturday I am taking a CPR class. After that's done I will have completed everything I need to apply to the RN nursing program. I can't believe that I'm finally going to be at that point. It's taken a lot of hard work to get here.
Okay nothing else to say I guess so here's my goals for this week, which are basically the same as every week.
1. Lose 1-2 pounds of pure slimy FAT!
2. Keep my calories in the 1200-1500 range daily. Keep fats no more than 30% of calories. Keep carbs in the 50-85 range daily and make sure their good ones.
3. Exercise at least 4 days this week consisting of cardio and strength training.
4. Read through the new cookbooks I got from the library and make a plan for trying out some of the recipes in the books.
5. Check back in here at the end of the week - I've said it before and I'll say it again - checking in here helps me stay on track
6. Keep focused and stay positive. I've only got 38 more pounds to go which is so much less than I needed to lose when I was at my highest. (used to be 120 pounds to lose -yikes) I can do this - there is no way that I'm not going to do this. It's not always easy but it is SO SO SO worth it.
7. Since it's basically summer I need to get my spring cleaning done. Or at least get a good majority of it done. I'm sure that will burn some calories.
I hope everyone else out there is doing well on their healthy plans. If you want it you can achieve it. If you fall down a bit pick yourself up and keep going. You definitely have to work for it but it can be done. Okay that's enough preaching from me.
Peace out peeps - Michelle
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 22 June 2009 02:12 pm |
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Late again posting my weekly update..... It's been a bit more hectic around here now that the kids are out of school for the summer. But I am here to post now as I will continue to do.
WEIGH IN = 172 - Which is only a 1 pound loss from last week. I'll take that 1 pound and smile about it. I'm in the 4th of July challenge here on these forums. My goal was to get to 169 by July 4th. There are 2 more weeks left in the challenge and I need to lose 3 more pounds to meet my challenge goal. I will be working hard to get there.
My weekly averages are:
Calories= 1131 Fats = 49 Fat % = 39 Carbs = 82 Carb% = 30
Okay so my calories were low this week, the highest calorie days total was 1326 and the lowest calorie days total was 713. My appetite was pretty lame this week and I know I need to eat more. I did eat breakfast every day as I have been doing. Though I did tend to skip lunches or just have a tiny bit of food at lunch.
My fats were higher than my goal for the week. Again, most of them were from good fats but still. Though I did have 3 slices of Pizza Hut Pizza this week, with stuffed crust even. Very yummy! The three pieces of pizza packed a whopping 1150 calories, 93 grams of fat and 115 grams of carbs. Definitely an indulgence food to eat only occasionally.
My carbs were in the range I was shooting for and they were mostly good carbs. I did notice that when my carbs were in the 60's range per day I was losing more quickly. So though I don't want to obsess about the carbs I still find myself doing it. Maybe I could try cycling my carbs every week. Like one week keep carbs in the 60 gram area per day and the next week go up to 80 grams per day. I just don't know, I still think 60 grams of carbs is low, when I'm that low I'm really missing my fruit. Okay so still more thinking to do in the carb area. I've been reading about the glycemic index which seems to be a better measure than carbs alone. I still have a lot of reading to do.
I got 3 workouts in this week, which falls short of my 4 days of workouts. Still not pushing myself as hard with exercise lately. Which could be another reason my weight loss has slowed down a bit. I don't know, I think a combination of higher fats, higher carbs and less exercise are all to blame for losing a little slower the past couple of weeks. But I'm still losing and I know slower is actually better. But I want to be thin NOW! LOL!
I bought 2 new shirts (size Large in juniors) that are sleeveless with spaghetti straps. They are really cute shirts and I love how they look. I'm pretty self conscious about my upper arms as they are big and jiggly. I wore one of them yesterday doing yard work and gardening and didn't feel SO weird, but it was still weird. I'm not ready to wear it out and about around town which I know is so stupid. I see tons of women with way bigger arms than me wearing sleeveless tops but I'm just not ready yet. My arms have always been bigger, even when the rest of me wasn't. So that's a little demon I have to fight within myself. Seems so silly when I really think about it but it's one of my hang ups.
I didn't measure myself this week but will next week. I am noticing more that I'm smaller in the whole torso area. Like when I'm loooking at my side view I can definitely tell that I'm smaller. Especially the upper torso around my back area. It's good to see the changes. I have some small muscles going on in my arms. If I flex I can actually see the muscles now. Little changes are still adding up.
I did read through some recipe books but haven't committed to trying any of them yet. I love peanut butter but wanted a change so I made my own almond butter. It was very simple. I just blended almonds and a little olive oil in a little food processor and voila fresh almond butter. I want to try pistachio butter and cashew butter next.
This past week I passed my STNA skills test for nursing. I also passed a Nursing Entrance exam for the nursing program. I took and passed a CPR course on Saturday. I also got updated on my immunizations for nursing. The MMR vaccine made me so sick and dizzy the night after I got it. Dizzy like I was drunk, really weird feeling. So, I finally have all my pre-nursing requirements completed. I sent in my application for the RN Nursing program. Now the fun part begins.... I have to wait......The selection process is competitive and I won't know if I got into the program until the end of July to the middle of August. I've worked hard the past year to get to this point and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get accepted for the fall quarter program.
I guess that's it for today. My goals for the week are:
1. Lose 2 pounds of fat.
2. Keep calories in the 1200-1500 range, fats no more than 30% of calories and carbs in the 60-85 range. Though I think I'll try to keep carbs closer to the 60's than the 80's.
3. Exercise at least 4 days Michelle!!!! Push myself hard on this one!!
4. Keep reading up on nutrition.
5. Continue checking recipes in the low carb and healthy eating cookbooks I got from the library. Make a list of the pantry items I will be needing.
6. Keep a positive attitude. If I'm feeling like #%@&!, force myself to exercise or go for a walk, because that will make me feel better.
7. Check back in here next week.
Until next time....................................
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 27 June 2009 06:22 pm |
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Here for my weekly check in. Weighed in on Friday at 173 which is a pound up from last week. I've eaten low cal all week so of course the one pound increase bugs me but I realize that I didn't actually gain a pound of fat so...................It's been super hot here this past week and that has left me swollen up a bit which is what I assume is the reason for the scale increase.
I took my measurements and have lost a 1/2 inch from my bust, waist and hips since the last time I measured. (2 weeks ago) So once again the scale is being screwing with me but the tape measure is still showing a loss. Still losing in my breasts - really body you can take some fat from my arms and thighs anytime now - please leave my breasts alone. LOL! It's #%@&! being fat but it's also #%@&! getting thinner and watching your boobs shrink and hang before your eyes. SIGH!!
My AVERAGE DAILY calories for the week were 1215, fats were 54 grams, carbs were 75 grams, proteins were 81 and fiber was 13.
My calories were within my goal range. My fats were higher again totalling about 40% of my calories. Most of which were from good fats, but there were some bad ones too. My carbs were within my goal range. I don't have a goal range for proteins and fiber yet but I am keeping track of them.
I exercised for a total of about 3 hours this week. Still shy of my goals on exercise. I have definitely been slacking on the workouts the past few weeks and I know it. I've been kind of bored with the same old routines so I got some new workout tapes and workout books from the library to try out. I think these will help me break up my routine and get my butt working harder again.
There's only 1 week left for the 4th of July Challenge on the challenge forum here and I really really really want to get to my goal of 169. So this coming week is going to be all about getting to that goal. As of yesterday and according to the scale that means I need to lose 4 pounds this week. I figure I'm holding 1-2 pounds of extra water weight and if I drink a ton of water I should be able to get that out. So that means I need to lose 2-3 pounds by working my butt off. Okay so my goals for the week are:
1. Lose 4 pounds (combination water and fat)
2. Work out 5 days this week and get some extra walking time in too. Push myself really hard on the workouts for maximum burn.
3. Drink lots of water - this is hard sometimes.
4. Keep calories in the 1000-1200 range this week. Keep fats to no more than 30% of calories and keep carbs lower, around 60 grams per day.
5. Resist high fat and high carb foods this week like the plague.
6. Check in here again next week to report my progress.
7. Keep the positive attitude in check. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
Okay that's about it for now. I may come in and write some more later.
Later gators - Michelle
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dascki
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 28 June 2009 03:24 am |
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Congrats on the loss so far! If you started at 250 than you are over half way there. Keep your motivation high and you'll do great.
I really want to do work outs in the morning right when I wake up, the problem is I don't have any motivation to roll out of bed 
Anyway, good luck on the rest of the way down!! <3
-Alicia
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 4 July 2009 03:11 pm |
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dascki wrote: Congrats on the loss so far! If you started at 250 than you are over half way there. Keep your motivation high and you'll do great.
I really want to do work outs in the morning right when I wake up, the problem is I don't have any motivation to roll out of bed
Anyway, good luck on the rest of the way down!! <3
-Alicia
Thanks so much Alicia! Your words are encouraging and I truly appreciate it.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 4 July 2009 03:32 pm |
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Hi there hey there ho there diary--- checking in for the week - keeping myself honest.
My weigh in for the week is 171. That's 2 less from last week so that's good. I missed my Independence Day Challenge goal by 2 pounds. I lost 8 pounds in the past 9 weeks so it's all good. I just joined the summer challenge here and plan to lose pounds in the next 8 weeks. Which means I'm going to have to work harder than I did for the last challenge.
I'll check in a little later to post my weekly update and goals.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 15 July 2009 07:35 pm |
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Hi - here for my weekly check in, about a half a week late. But I'm here. There's been some chaos in life that took precedent over checking in.....
I weighed in on Friday at 170 which is another pound loss and I'm of course glad about it. Oh, so darned close to the 160's! I fully intend on getting there by the end of the week.
I didn't keep a food journal last week, which is the second week in a row. I'm still losing so I kind of feel that I don't have to write everything down. I know what and how much of foods to eat so I'm not sure I'm going to keep the food journal. As long as I'm still losing I'm thinking that it's not necessary for me. But I don't know, I still kind of like being able to look back at it and see what I've been eating. I may pick it up again soon or maybe not.
I didn't exercise last week and I don't have any excuses beyond being a lazy butt. I know it makes me feel fabulous so why have I skipped. I don't know, a bit of depression has been around me and it just makes it harder. I'm not going to beat myself up about not exercising. I'm not being a complete slug. I did some painting around the house, gardening, stuff like that, so I am moving and sweating. I will pick myself up and get moving with official workouts soon. It's in there wanting to come out.
So my goals for this week are to lose 2 pounds, I really want to get to 168, but I'll still be happy with a 1 pound loss putting me at 169. Beyond that I don't know.
TTYl
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 18 July 2009 03:17 pm |
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I'm very excited about my loss this week. Weighed in today and I weigh 168. OMG! Yay, finally under the 170 mark. I'm totally thrilled and getting under 170 gives me the extra motivation that I've been needing. I've definitely been slacking with the exercise.
Okay that's all I wanted to say today. Yay, I'm a happy girl!
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Hisgal
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 20 July 2009 08:46 pm |
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Alright, Michelle! Congratulations!    
That's my immediate goal too.............to get under 170! But, I am sabotaging myself by not sticking to plan  Too many parties this summer for one thing    I really need to buckle down............I think I'll use you as my inspiration! You've been steady and doing so well
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OnceUpon-A-ThinGirl
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 21 July 2009 04:32 am |
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| You've made great progress! It's nice to read about someone who's close to my weight and has about the same goals. Keep up the great work.
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MichelleP
Senior Member
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Posted: 21 July 2009 03:24 pm |
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Hisgal thanks for stopping by and I totally appreciate the congratulations! Stay on track and you will get under 170 too. When I stepped on the scale and it said 168 I screamed a big loud WOOHOO!!! I've kind of being flying high since then and it gives me an extra dose of motivation to keep going. I'm SO rooting for you and I know you are going to get there too!
Once Upon a Thin Girl - thanks for stopping by too. I did notice that you were in the Challenge here on these forums and that you are close to my weight. I've got some catching up to do though to get as low as you are now. I'm gaining on ya. Thanks so much girl!
I promised myself that I would exercise on Monday. Well, Monday has come and gone and I did NOT exercise. It's been a couple weeks or so since I did an official workout and I'm really kind of dreading it because I know it's going to be hard. Why have I let my exercise routine slack????? I don't have an answer for that.
My goal for today, Tuesday, is to get off my butt and do a workout. I've got to really psych myself into this. Get moving Michelle!
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