No, don't answer that.
OK people. Just to catch you up if you are new to the pool party: I'm trying to lose weight. Not a small amount. A LOT. It all came about when I was trying to decide where to get a tattoo and decided my foot was the only place on my body I was OK with getting inked up or having anyone see. And that made me realize that... yeah... not good.
So armed with my arsenal of knowledge, K80 helping me get motivated for the gym, Maria helping me by chatting about our goals and what we're doing, and Natalie supplying me with caloric information on the Livestrong.com website, I dove in.
This is my first week of my new lifestyle. It's not a diet. It's actively looking at what I'm eating and getting responsible when it comes to my body. One of the most important things for me when it comes to starting to lose weight is trying to find some motivation. My motivation consists of a few things:
1) The little lady that added an un-Godly expensive zipper to a dress that still doesn't fit around my hips. She was very kind, but said that I should just do it now, lose the weight, and it will all be so much easier for me. She's quitting smoking, so I figure that is about as tough as losing weight for me. So we're in it together, although she doesn't know it.
2) The tattoo issue. My brother is 18 and getting more and more ripped by the day. Right now, I'm the chubby sister. We should both look hot when we go get tattoos so people can marvel at how great the genes in our family are.
3) Just like I take responsibility for my finances, my job/career, Puka and relationships, I need to take responsibility for my body. I'm proud of the way I handle those aspects of my life. And I know I'll be proud once I am managing my weight.
4) Shopping. I'm not kidding. It's important to me! I LOVE to shop. And the fact that I am in NYC and unable to enjoy some of the best shopping in the continental US is devastating to me. And I like to think I'm getting more adventurous in my fashion and style, so I'd like to be able to take advantage of that. Also? I want Kate Middleton's dress. Um. Fat arms wrapped in lace is NOT attractive.
So now that I had my motivation, and my team of friends, I was all set to go. And so I did.
I went to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I am failing at doing anything other than the elliptical at the moment, which I need to work on. But I do try to push myself a little bit on there. I try to jog, or move faster, or stay on longer. On Friday I did 5 miles on the elliptical, and kept my pace up pretty well. So that's good. But definitely a goal for me is to start incorporating maybe a class or two and some other activities at the gym into my routine. On Saturday Miranda, Ana, Natalie and Natalie's friend Malinda went with me to bike ride through Central Park. This was one of the best activities I've done in a long time. It was fantastic! The ride wasn't terribly challenging. There's a bit of an incline on the East Side of the park that gets rough but is do-able, and a hill on the West Side that Ana and I actually had to walk up because it was so steep and long. But otherwise it was great! I definitely got a good work-out in. So that made for 4 work-outs. And I could really feel it in my butt, so we all decided we wanted to do it again.
Unfortunately I didn't make it to the gym on Sunday. But 3 days in a row is a lot, and I did get some good workouts in so I was OK with that.
I tracked everything I ate and my fitness stuff on Livestrong.com. You should really check this site out, even if you aren't trying to lose weight. I am better understanding what I am putting into my body and how it effects me. There are links to all kinds of helpful weight management tools, and information about dietary supplements. It's a great site.
The only issue I have had with the site is the calorie calculator. When I put in my height (5'4"), weight (yeah. Right.), age (27), lifestyle (sedentary) and my weight goals (Lose 2 pounds per week), it calculated the number of calories I should be taking in each day. Originally it was about 860 calories. This number fluctuates depending on whether you add anything to the fitness tracker. So on days that I went to the gym I was actually consuming about 1100+ calories. Which I was really comfortable with. But on days when I couldn't go to the gym, 860 calories is tough to stick to. When I put in my new weight for this week, the website cut my calorie intake per day nearly in half! I'm no nutritionist, but I don't think there's any way that it's healthy to only consume 464 calories in a day! But when I went in to update my calorie goals, and put in the same information I outlined above, the new caloric intake because 1234 calories per day. Which seems more correct.
So this week I will be focusing on 1234 calories. I'm a little nervous because that's almost 400 calories per day more than I was consuming last week. I don't want this to make me gain back any of the weight I successfully lost last week. But one thing I learned on Weight Watchers is that you have to eat to keep your metabolism running. So as long as I stay as focused on eating the right kinds of foods and being conscious about what I'm putting into my body, it should be OK. Since I am not looking at this as a diet, and rather a new lifestyle for myself, I'd rather do a little trial and error to see what works for me.
My diet for this week has been normal for me, just better. For example, I had enchiladas. My friend Mike nearly lost his shit when I said that because "Enchiladas are so bad for you! I thought you were working out and stuff??" Until I explained how I made them. Each enchilada had:
4oz. grilled chicken, shredded
1/4 cup black beans
1 oz. cheese of your choice (I used pepper jack)
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/4 cup low sodium enchilada sauce
If you want to, add some grilled peppers and onions in there too. And I only had 1 enchilada at a time and was really happy to see that that's all I need. I was completely satisfied, and it was a pretty healthy dinner. I also had grilled chicken over brown rice with 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup on top. Delish. I upped my veggie and fruit intake. So in the mornings after I had my cereal, I would have a banana. Then after lunch (I chose healthy soups from Au Bon Pain or a salad with protein and veggies and vinaigrette dressing) I would have a sliced apple with low fat peanut butter. Also? I went up against the office candy box, and I came out on top! Rather than hitting that thing up every day, I think I had maybe 2 pieces of candy last week, and now don't even really want any.
BIG sugar tip: every time you eat something sweet, your body's blood sugar goes haywire. This is what makes you crave more sweets. Because you get this high off the added sugar, and when it dips back down to normal levels, you feel run-down and want more. So go a couple of days without and you'll feel totally fine without it. The issue is that Reese's are still my kryptonite. But I'm resisting.
So. After all that rambling on and on about what I did this week to work on my goal... are you ready for how I did??
Ready??
-2.5 pounds!
So I know that doesn't sound like much. But it really is. And this is how I'm quantifying it:
I lost half of that blob of fat. And that, my friends, is amazing. And who knows how much of that little red muscle that I gained!
So what do you think? Was this a little over the top? Or was it OK? I promise I will only talk about this stuff on Wednesdays. Because I like the way Weight Loss Wednesday rolls off the tongue. But just like with the apartment thing, I like the idea of being able to look back and see how I've done. It's holds me just that much more accountable.
If you have any tips for gym stuff or healthy recipes to keep my diet interesting I'd love to hear them!
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