I'm Back

By Christine

Within the next six weeks I'm moving, my son is coming home from his mission, I'm giving a major presentation and I'm turning 50. I've totally let all thoughts of my growing midsection fly out the window during this time of unemployment and stress, but now that my hubby is back among the employed, maybe its time for me to try again to pull my act together and really work on this.

I'm going to weigh in on Monday and start my road. I'm sure the last months have added another ten pounds to my figure and its time to work on this. I'm always better with short-term goals.

I'm hoping to work on improved behaviors from now until my birthday on April fifteenth (my birthday.) I'll hone down the details tomorrow but any suggestions would be great.

Not quite going.

Well, I haven't actually gotten going on the weight loss yet. My mind is all for it, my body is not. Luckily I have 3 little ones and keep busy just enough to not gain weight. If I just took the extra time to eat a little less and exercise a little more, I know I'd see a change. Easier said than done though.

Still off caffeine - 7 weeks now. (Yay!) Hardly drinking any soda pop. My problem area is snacking in the evening. I think I'm just relieving all my stress and worry from throughout the day. I did ask my husband to nicely remind me that I am trying to lose weight if he sees me snacking too much. He did offer to make me popcorn last night as a snack.

I did put on some Happy Music today and have been dancing around with the kids some. I figure any movement is good movement. I'm really excited about the warmer weather coming. The other day when it was high 40's I took the girls out on a mile walk. It felt good to be outside moving.

Oh, and I decided to do monthly goals. Last two months was get off caffeine and most soda drinks. This month - no deep fried foods. I can pan fry in a little oil, but nothing deep fried. This will limit my fast food eating, which is good. If I really want something fast food, I will have to choose the grilled option. Or have a taco or something.

Okay, so that's my update. No weight loss, but no weight gain.

Starting Tomorrow. For Reals.

I've had a hard time getting into the groove. In fact, I can't even find it most days.

But now that we've settled into somewhat of a routine at school and life is evening out a bit, I think I'm ready to start back into a real life exercise and nutrition plan.

Now, my only decision is going to be whether I should hit the treadmill or the pool. Decisions, decisions. I better make the decision quick, though, or the day will slip by while doing absotively nothing.

So . . . . . . running it will be. *gulp* It's always so painful when I haven't done it in a while. If I don't post again by tomorrow night to tell you how it went, could someone send an ambulance to my house? ;o)

Signed,
Shaking in Her Boots (a.k.a. Shaking in Her Running Shoes)

Getting Started: My Plans

Figuring out a diet is a hard thing to do--and figuring out what works for you is even harder. I've dieted in the past--three major times and I've done it the same all three times, but each time I learn a little bit more about how I work and how I lose weight. Hopefully this will be the last time!

Previously, I have focused a lot on counting calories. I use a free online website and it works for me. Counting calories does a few things for me. I tend to go big on portion sizes and this really helps me control it--especially if I've counted the calories before I eat the actual meal. It also gives me a sense of accomplishment--I may have been hungry, but by golly! I hit my calories for the day.

Exercise has also been included in the plan, but it has been spotty exercise and here and there. Then, when something changes in my life or I get too stressed or it has taken too long and I've hit a plateau I tend to start slipping and before I know it I'm not exercising anymore and I'm eating way too much--fast food, chocolate, chips, chocolate, large portion sizes at dinner, chocolate, donuts, chocolate, cookies, chocolate, ice-cream, chocolate. Did I mention chocolate?

So here is my new and improved plan. Are you ready? I go back to counting calories. Right now I'll aim for 1400-1600 calories a day. Before I've been hitting between 1200-1400 calories and I think that may be a little low. You do not want to lose weight too quickly. If you are losing too much then you are also losing muscle mass. Muscle mass helps you lose weight--A TON OF WEIGHT--and if you lose muscle mass that can really hurt you in the long run. From everything I've researched you should not lose more than two pounds a week--if you are doing what I'm doing. There are some diets out there such as HCG, which is supposed to prevent that muscle loss. But I'm just counting calories.

I also focus on keeping my fats down and eating vegetables and fruit. I don't need to worry about the protein side of things, because I'm always a little TOO good at getting my protein! And, just a side note. I do NOT deprive myself of my favorite treat of all time--chocolate. I just do not eat very much of it. And when I limit myself like that, I tend to appreciate the little I get much more than the bagful I eat when I'm not being good. I also will take multi-vitamins to help make sure I'm getting everything I need.

Exercise, which has never been huge in my plan before is now taking a larger part. I'm now attending taekwondo twice a week. In addition, I will be biking to and from work which is around 5.5 miles total. Not too much, I know, but still it is better than nothing. Plus, I'm hoping that working hard on the way home (all uphill) will help me snack less when I get home.

My husband and I usually manage to watch something--a movie or hulu--for at least an hour or two in the evening. During that time I'll get on my rowing machine and exercise for fifteen minutes. I know that isn't much and I'll see about building that up later, but for right now I feel pretty good about the cardiovascular side of things and biking, taekwondo, and the rowing machine will also help me gain some muscle mass. I'm planning on doing pushups and situps. Later, I'll try to incorporate more muscle building exercises into the plan (and yes, I'm going to do them every other day to give my body the chance to heal). Oh and stretching, but that isn't so much a diet goal as a taekwondo goal. I NEED to be more flexible!

Now, for something that may sound a little strange. SLEEP. Unfortunately, this is part of the plan that I will not be able to incorporate as much as I want to. Sleep helps you lose weight. If you are trying to lose weight, get PLENTY of sleep. If you are the kind of person who needs 8 hours, make sure you get AT LEAST those eight hours. I lost weight so much faster when I was sleeping 9-10 hours a night. I'm one of those people who needs more than eight hours. Sigh.

My diet starts full force next week. That's when I start school back up and get onto a schedule. I'll blog more then and weigh in (eek, I so don't want to do that) and also include my measurements. One of the things I'm focusing on is measurements versus weight. You can lose inches, but not lose weight. Even though muscle mass weighs more than fat, it also takes up a lot less room than fat. So doing both--weighing and measuring--can give you a truer picture of what is going on with your body.

Sorry I've Been MIA

Although, I don't know if you can call it MIA if there's been no action! :-P

I haven't gotten a workout in since I "started." I realized yesterday that I think I might have to just wait until school starts on Monday and I can get into somewhat of a routine before I really hit it hard.

However, I did a much better job yesterday on the whole eating part of the plan. I didn't snack nearly as much throughout the day, and aside from a handful of chocolate-covered-almonds (really shouldn't have bought those!) I only drank water after 10 or so.

And, I was down 1 lb this morning from when I weighed myself initially a couple days ago. So, there you have it.

I'll be back with more updates next week. :o)