Yesterday was the start of something new for me. My sister reccommended that I join Myfitnesspal.com for help losing weight. You plug in your current weight and your weight goals, how much you plan to exercise, and what type of lifestyle you live, and it tells you how many daily calories you can eat and still lose weight. Then, you keep track of your food (there are certain food items in the database that have the nutritional elements prefigured, which is helpful), exersise, and water consumption throughout the day. Any exercise you do increases your caloric intake for the day. The nice thing is that you can see very clearly if you need to step up your exerscise for the day in order to offset a bit of overeating you did. Very nice! Yesterday, even with the bit of exersise I did, I was still below my alloted calories. Today it might be a bit closer. But with the tools provided, I'm looking forward to losing weight in the next few months. I know it will be slow (I selected the 1-pound a week weight loss goal), but I'm hoping that this will help me make more of a lifestyle change, keeping the weight off once I'm down to my goal weight.
My ultimate goal is to be at a whole new size by the time we're finished with language school and ready for the move to Mexico City (hopefully for the fall of 2012). I've been dealing with weight for the last 15 years, encompassing 2 decades of my life. The idea of entering my 40s in great shape is thrilling!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Some Minor Changes
I am excellent at making plans. What I am not so good at is following through. But if you've read any of the posts in this blog, you already knew that.
One morning about three weeks ago, I decided to make a few changes--mostly in diet--just to see what happened. So, I bought an assortment of vegetables (lettuce & red cabbage mix, green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower in particular), several different bottles of Kraft Light dressings, some diet ice cream (more in a minute), and yogurt.
Each morning for breakfast, I eat a small portion of the generic brand of Honey Nut Cheerios (minus any added sugar) with milk and a small container of either strawberry or peach yogurt, along with a big mug of hot tea (with milk and sugar--not exactly the healthiest way to drink it, but babysteps). For lunch, I enjoy a big bowl of the lettuce mixture along with bits of each of the cut-up vegetables. Now, in the past I have tried various "diet" dressings and hated them. However, I've now tried the Kraft Light House Italian and the Kraft Light Catalina and they are both awesome! And I've learned to enjoy a lot less dressing on my salad than I used to.
I've been limiting my soda intake to weekends and on those occasions we are out to eat, but I'm working my way down to cutting them out altogether (I know--gasp!). It helps to not have it in the house. Anyway, I've really been enjoying the Grape Crystal Light, which is helping me to increase my water intake.
I still get one regular meal a day, but I've been trying to watch the portion sizes. There's also no snacking during the day. Desserts are limited to no more than 150 calories, and I've only been allowing myself two of them each day. There are a number of yummy 100-calorie cookie packs that I've enjoyed (the 100-calorie Oreos are decently good, if a little crispy). As we all know, I absolutely adore ice cream. Diet ice cream is something I've eschewed for quite some time, and I ate so much sherbet growing up that I won't eat it now. However, I've discovered that dieters can actually eat ice cream, thanks to the Skinny Cow brand. I've tried the ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches, and the little 1-serving containers of soft ice cream and there is nothing that tastes remotely "diet". The mint-truffle bars are delish, as are both the mint and chocolate ice cream sandwiches. I've tried the vanilla (which is okay), the chocolate peanut butter, and the cookies and cream flavors as well. Next on my list to try is the strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches.
Anyway, along with all of these small changes, I hope to also increase the daily exercise. Troy and I have made a deal that for every 25 pounds I lose, he will pay for me to stay in a hotel overnight by myself! Sounds like an incentive to me! Stay tuned!
One morning about three weeks ago, I decided to make a few changes--mostly in diet--just to see what happened. So, I bought an assortment of vegetables (lettuce & red cabbage mix, green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower in particular), several different bottles of Kraft Light dressings, some diet ice cream (more in a minute), and yogurt.
Each morning for breakfast, I eat a small portion of the generic brand of Honey Nut Cheerios (minus any added sugar) with milk and a small container of either strawberry or peach yogurt, along with a big mug of hot tea (with milk and sugar--not exactly the healthiest way to drink it, but babysteps). For lunch, I enjoy a big bowl of the lettuce mixture along with bits of each of the cut-up vegetables. Now, in the past I have tried various "diet" dressings and hated them. However, I've now tried the Kraft Light House Italian and the Kraft Light Catalina and they are both awesome! And I've learned to enjoy a lot less dressing on my salad than I used to.
I've been limiting my soda intake to weekends and on those occasions we are out to eat, but I'm working my way down to cutting them out altogether (I know--gasp!). It helps to not have it in the house. Anyway, I've really been enjoying the Grape Crystal Light, which is helping me to increase my water intake.
I still get one regular meal a day, but I've been trying to watch the portion sizes. There's also no snacking during the day. Desserts are limited to no more than 150 calories, and I've only been allowing myself two of them each day. There are a number of yummy 100-calorie cookie packs that I've enjoyed (the 100-calorie Oreos are decently good, if a little crispy). As we all know, I absolutely adore ice cream. Diet ice cream is something I've eschewed for quite some time, and I ate so much sherbet growing up that I won't eat it now. However, I've discovered that dieters can actually eat ice cream, thanks to the Skinny Cow brand. I've tried the ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches, and the little 1-serving containers of soft ice cream and there is nothing that tastes remotely "diet". The mint-truffle bars are delish, as are both the mint and chocolate ice cream sandwiches. I've tried the vanilla (which is okay), the chocolate peanut butter, and the cookies and cream flavors as well. Next on my list to try is the strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches.
Anyway, along with all of these small changes, I hope to also increase the daily exercise. Troy and I have made a deal that for every 25 pounds I lose, he will pay for me to stay in a hotel overnight by myself! Sounds like an incentive to me! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Dreaded "S" Season
This blasted heat, while intensely uncomfortable, also serves as a harbringer of that most unpleasant "s" season to come. Lest you misunderstand, the "s" season I'm referring to is made possible by the other "s" season which actually appears on our calendars. Yes, I'm talking about the dreaded swimsuit season. Ack! That name alone conjurs up horrifying images and feelings from deep within.
This was to be the summer spent on Costa Rican beaches. Since I've been granted a temporary repreive--a stay of execution, it feels like at times--it behooves me to seek to use this coming year wisely so that next year, God willing, I can frolick on those beautiful beaches without shame or self-reproach. When to begin? Some would say "there's no time like the present!", and I would agree but for the unpleasant facts of summer life and the perils that they bring. Namely, these include travel, vacation, and camp life.
Traveling, unless done in short doses, always has an adverse effect on my appearance. My ankles cease to be ankles and take on a most disturbing "cankle"-like quality. In order to appease a "let's just get there" mentality, there is a significant amount of fast food eaten. And as a rule, fast food equals unhealthy food. Vacation is little better. Although eating out will be a rarity (typically only reserved for take out pizza from "The Tavern"), how can I resist the siren song of Anderson Erickson chocolate milk? And while better than drinking a soda (and with some calcium to boot!), I'm sure too much of it would be frowned on by dieticians. The biggest detriment to any weight-loss progress, perhaps comes in the form of camp life. During the course of our two weeks at camp, we partake of three very genergous, very tasty, squares a day, where one has the opportunity to enjoy fresh fried chicken every day! But for me, worse of all is the close proximity to all the chocolate ice cream I can possibly afford to eat (chocoalte soft serve is considered something of a unicorn here in Mississippi). Ahh, the bliss! Don't get me wrong--I love camp! There is much to feed the body and the soul there. We have come home every year full both in body and in spirit. And, too, not having a golf cart to navigate the hills on camp allows some exercise.
Swimsuits are an evil to a girl like me, things that look as appealing on us as do mu-mus. I actually did manage to find one that is not completely hideous looking even if it doesn't magically make me appear ten pounds thinner (as some of the adds for certain bathing suits boast). If I were a braver soul, I would immediately put on my suit, snap a picture, and then post it on this blog as a "before", promising to post another picture next summer (on a beach in Costa Rica, perhaps), as the "after". Hmm. Dare I?
This was to be the summer spent on Costa Rican beaches. Since I've been granted a temporary repreive--a stay of execution, it feels like at times--it behooves me to seek to use this coming year wisely so that next year, God willing, I can frolick on those beautiful beaches without shame or self-reproach. When to begin? Some would say "there's no time like the present!", and I would agree but for the unpleasant facts of summer life and the perils that they bring. Namely, these include travel, vacation, and camp life.
Traveling, unless done in short doses, always has an adverse effect on my appearance. My ankles cease to be ankles and take on a most disturbing "cankle"-like quality. In order to appease a "let's just get there" mentality, there is a significant amount of fast food eaten. And as a rule, fast food equals unhealthy food. Vacation is little better. Although eating out will be a rarity (typically only reserved for take out pizza from "The Tavern"), how can I resist the siren song of Anderson Erickson chocolate milk? And while better than drinking a soda (and with some calcium to boot!), I'm sure too much of it would be frowned on by dieticians. The biggest detriment to any weight-loss progress, perhaps comes in the form of camp life. During the course of our two weeks at camp, we partake of three very genergous, very tasty, squares a day, where one has the opportunity to enjoy fresh fried chicken every day! But for me, worse of all is the close proximity to all the chocolate ice cream I can possibly afford to eat (chocoalte soft serve is considered something of a unicorn here in Mississippi). Ahh, the bliss! Don't get me wrong--I love camp! There is much to feed the body and the soul there. We have come home every year full both in body and in spirit. And, too, not having a golf cart to navigate the hills on camp allows some exercise.
Swimsuits are an evil to a girl like me, things that look as appealing on us as do mu-mus. I actually did manage to find one that is not completely hideous looking even if it doesn't magically make me appear ten pounds thinner (as some of the adds for certain bathing suits boast). If I were a braver soul, I would immediately put on my suit, snap a picture, and then post it on this blog as a "before", promising to post another picture next summer (on a beach in Costa Rica, perhaps), as the "after". Hmm. Dare I?
Monday, February 8, 2010
New Year, New Shot
February 8. Yeeeaahhh. Obviously, it's been awhile since I last blogged. (And thank you, Robin, for the encouragement to keep at it.) I refuse to beat myself up about my long absence from my goals; is it really helpful, after all? Can I go back in time and change things? No. So here goes. A whole new year, a whole new shot to get this right. Aaaahhhh.
I should probably do a whole new measurement as well, but since it's already the 8th of the month, and February is such a short month, I'll go ahead and wait until next month to do the measuring. But I am at 209. I know that. Now, I can't remember exactly what my last weigh-in was, but I'm thinking I had a gain over the last couple months. Oh well. Again, can't be changed.
A friend of mine and I were discussing weight loss and goal weights yesterday. I said that my goal weight was 130. I've been told that 125-135 would be a good weight for me, which I think is much more realistic and healthier all around than the 114 the Wii Fit says I should be. Good grief--I haven't been that trim since high school, maybe my first year of college. Do I really care to get back to that size? Not really. I'll be 35 in less than 6 months now and I've had four children. Is it realistic for me to weigh what I did in high school? Naaah. How many mothers my age or older (okay, mothers without their own personal trainers or chefs) are as slim as they were in high school? Not many I know.
So what am I going to do to change things? Thanks to my wonderful hubby and all his extra hours of side jobs on the weekends we were home this fall, I have a Wii Fit Plus and a Biggest Loser game to shake up my daily workouts. Yes, I can let Jillian Michaels kick my tooshie on a daily basis (and she does!). I've also been working on drinking more water, eschewing the sodas (but oh, do I love my sodas!), and avoiding the snacking. I purposely do not stock the house with yummy snacks because I know I do not have great self control (why else would I be at 209 lbs?). On a sidebar, and something I'm particularly proud of, there have been 2 Cadbury Creme eggs in my house since Saturday. That is a huge thing. Now that I've reminded myself that they're in fact awaiting me in the kitchen, I'm going to focus on something else so that I do not get up and go get them. I love Cadbury Creme eggs! But I certainly do not need to eat one at barely 9 AM when I haven't even had breakfast yet. How long can they sit there without being eaten? Hmmm. Anyway! Along with my lack of exercise and proper eating habits, my devotions have been lacking as well (to my shame). I'm working on reistablishing my 6 AM wakeup each morning so that I have time for my devotions before the kids wake up. My time with the Lord should be more important to me than a few extra minutes of sleep. Speaking of a few extra minutes of sleep, I need to reistablish my 10:30 bedtime (with lights out no later than 11) so that I have plenty of time to sleep each night.
As I said earlier, this is the year I will turn 35. I want to develop good discipline habits NOW, this year. At the end of the year, I want to no longer be the lazy, undisciplined woman that I am now. Everything else will follow. That is the very best resolution I can have by far. Pray for me!
I should probably do a whole new measurement as well, but since it's already the 8th of the month, and February is such a short month, I'll go ahead and wait until next month to do the measuring. But I am at 209. I know that. Now, I can't remember exactly what my last weigh-in was, but I'm thinking I had a gain over the last couple months. Oh well. Again, can't be changed.
A friend of mine and I were discussing weight loss and goal weights yesterday. I said that my goal weight was 130. I've been told that 125-135 would be a good weight for me, which I think is much more realistic and healthier all around than the 114 the Wii Fit says I should be. Good grief--I haven't been that trim since high school, maybe my first year of college. Do I really care to get back to that size? Not really. I'll be 35 in less than 6 months now and I've had four children. Is it realistic for me to weigh what I did in high school? Naaah. How many mothers my age or older (okay, mothers without their own personal trainers or chefs) are as slim as they were in high school? Not many I know.
So what am I going to do to change things? Thanks to my wonderful hubby and all his extra hours of side jobs on the weekends we were home this fall, I have a Wii Fit Plus and a Biggest Loser game to shake up my daily workouts. Yes, I can let Jillian Michaels kick my tooshie on a daily basis (and she does!). I've also been working on drinking more water, eschewing the sodas (but oh, do I love my sodas!), and avoiding the snacking. I purposely do not stock the house with yummy snacks because I know I do not have great self control (why else would I be at 209 lbs?). On a sidebar, and something I'm particularly proud of, there have been 2 Cadbury Creme eggs in my house since Saturday. That is a huge thing. Now that I've reminded myself that they're in fact awaiting me in the kitchen, I'm going to focus on something else so that I do not get up and go get them. I love Cadbury Creme eggs! But I certainly do not need to eat one at barely 9 AM when I haven't even had breakfast yet. How long can they sit there without being eaten? Hmmm. Anyway! Along with my lack of exercise and proper eating habits, my devotions have been lacking as well (to my shame). I'm working on reistablishing my 6 AM wakeup each morning so that I have time for my devotions before the kids wake up. My time with the Lord should be more important to me than a few extra minutes of sleep. Speaking of a few extra minutes of sleep, I need to reistablish my 10:30 bedtime (with lights out no later than 11) so that I have plenty of time to sleep each night.
As I said earlier, this is the year I will turn 35. I want to develop good discipline habits NOW, this year. At the end of the year, I want to no longer be the lazy, undisciplined woman that I am now. Everything else will follow. That is the very best resolution I can have by far. Pray for me!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Week 13 Report
This was a pretty decent week. Even with the candy in the house I didn't go hog wild and eat everything in sight (a first). I got in 3 out of 4 days of my walking DVD, stepping it up to the 2 mile, 30 minute workout. And I did 6 out of 7 days of devotions. Still no Total Gym days, though. I'm going to have to figure out alternate days perhaps, because Tuesdays and Thursdays just aren't working for me.
Gonna do even better next week!
Gonna do even better next week!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Week 12
Week 12 marks the end of October. I'm gonna probably lose this one to my sister.
I ended up with 4 out of 7 days for devotions and 2 out of 4 days for the walking DVD. I broke my water jug, but figured out I don't technically need as much water as I thought I did.
A new month marks new goals, so I need to step it up. I want to prove to myself that I can still watch my diet and enjoy the holidays at the same time. It's also very challenging at home because now after the Fall Festival, the kids have a TON of candy in the house which will be a test of my willpower. I've made a point of not keeping goodies in the house which has helped me to not be a snacker. I have a very big goal to lose 7 pounds this month, putting me at under 200 pounds--a place I haven't been in 5 years. I'm very excited about it and nervous at the same time.
Definitely pray for me and stay tuned.
I ended up with 4 out of 7 days for devotions and 2 out of 4 days for the walking DVD. I broke my water jug, but figured out I don't technically need as much water as I thought I did.
A new month marks new goals, so I need to step it up. I want to prove to myself that I can still watch my diet and enjoy the holidays at the same time. It's also very challenging at home because now after the Fall Festival, the kids have a TON of candy in the house which will be a test of my willpower. I've made a point of not keeping goodies in the house which has helped me to not be a snacker. I have a very big goal to lose 7 pounds this month, putting me at under 200 pounds--a place I haven't been in 5 years. I'm very excited about it and nervous at the same time.
Definitely pray for me and stay tuned.
Week 11
Did better on the devotions, getting 5 out of 7 days. Still having a hard time remembering to get out the Total gym.
Started the week drinking my water but didn't finish strong.
Not a strong week overall.
Started the week drinking my water but didn't finish strong.
Not a strong week overall.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)