Weekly Plan Sheet =D

It's not really my weekly plan sheet (though I need to get back to doing those - I've gotten horribly far away!), but it is my plan for the week. =D

Tonight - I'd like to go for a walk. I can't do anything about my day of eating now, but I can choose not to snack and just to drink water instead of pop if I want anything.

Sunday - Dinner: Crock Pot Roast Beef - Exercise: Walk to and from Church, Wii

Monday - Dinner: Spinach Pasta with Tomato Creme Sauce - Exercise: Hike with Ellie (though not with her in the pack! Maybe in the stroller...)

Tuesday - Flying to Dallas!! I'll eat dinner with my family somewhere (probably Whataburger or some other fast food place, but I'll try to pick a healthy option!) - Exercise: I'm calling all the walking around lugging my carry on, Ellie's carry on, my purse, Ellie, Ellie's stroller, and a car seat my exercise for this day. My downfall will be yummy frozen coffee drinks, so I'll need to do my best to order black coffee if I'm tempted.

Wednesday - SEMINAR! Dinner: I really have no control over dinner this week, other than to make wise decisions when they're in front of me! - Exercise: at the hotel

Thursday - SEMINAR! See above

Friday - SEMINAR! See above

Saturday - SEMINAR! I'll have dinner with my brother this night, because he's going to pick me up from the spa. =D I should opt for something healthy, though we usually head to Sonic. This will be another hard one, since I'm deprived of Sonics up here and they are just so darn tempting!

So... that's my game plan for this week. Once I'm at my parents' house in Texas, we'll see what exercise looks like. I might be swimming laps in the pool if it's too hot to walk! Mom said it's been 106 most days, and 102 in the shade. There's not much shade where we would walk! So... it might have to be laps. Maybe I'll get mom to TiVo some aerobics for me. =D

And now for some math...

Today I am at 120 lbs. I want to be at 110 by my birthday, September 21. That means I have approximately 8 weeks to lose 10 lbs. Technically, that is a doable number. I need to lose a lb and a quarter each week to reach that goal, so I need to get cracking and work on it.

There it is. A new goal.

Weight loss schedule:
7/29 - 120.8
8/4 - 119.4
8/11 - 118.0
8/18 - 116.6
8/25 - 115.2
9/1 - 113.8
9/8 - 112.4
9/15 - 111.0
9/21 - 110.6

This is what I hope to stick with and use as a guide each week. I would like to be at or lower than these numbers at each weigh in to make my final goal. That's a loss of 1.4 lbs each week. Each lb is 3500 calories, so I need to rid myself of 4900 calories each week. That's 700 calories a day. According to a few basal metabolic rate calculators, I burn about 1320 calories a day, just by being alive. If I intake 1100 calories a day, that means I have a deficit of 220 calories. That takes me to 480 calories that I need to rid myself of. According to a couple other daily calorie expenditure calculators, I burn approximately 1600 calories with a sedentary lifestyle. That means I have about 200** calories each day that I need to burn with exercise if I'm going to lose weight according to the schedule above, and a little more if I eat more during the day.

The following exercises will burn about 200 calories, so I need to make time to fit at least one of them in a day:

• Wii, fitness mode, 200 calorie goal (**255 calorie goal)
  
• Housework, 1 hour (1:15)
  
• Backpacking, 30 minutes (10 lb load)
• Bicycling, 12 mph, 30 minutes
  
• Gardening, 1 hour (1:15)
  
• Hiking, 45 minutes (no load)
  
• Jogging, 5 mph, 30 minutes (adding a 5 minute warm up and cool down should do it.)
  
• Walking, 15 min/mile, 45 minutes (50 minutes)
  
• Weight training, 60 sec. between intervals, 30 minutes (35 minutes)
  

So there are some things I can work toward doing. And really, if I worked at housework for an hour straight each day, my house would look a whole lot better AND I would get exercise!! I guess that means I need to start setting my timer while I work, LOL! The Flylady principles come back again!

**after thinking about it I realized that I really have to burn 200 NET calories. If I burn 200 calories in an hour (such as doing housework) then I really need to burn 255, since I will burn 55 calories just by being alive, and they don't count toward my end goal. So it depends on how long it will take me to burn 200 calories.** (adjusted times are in italics)

Cheaper than a gym membership....

So Taylor and I were talking on our walk/run yesterday that we are so much more motivated to work out well when we're at the gym. I find it ridiculous, but true. She has looked in to getting a gym membership, but you have to pay for childcare at all the gyms around here, and with 3 kids now, that gets expensive fast! I told her that before she decides to buy a gym membership, she should head over to my house and we can let the older girls play, the younger girls sleep, and we can workout together! I have 2 steps, 2 DDR mats, a weight bench and free weights, and a few workout video options. She was excited about that idea, so we've made plans to workout together on Tuesday mornings, then have lunch. I think that will be fun and hopefully keep me on the ball so I don't loose motivation and drop out of exercise for a week or two as I am prone to do. I don't know if we'll start this Tuesday since my parents are in town, but we will for sure do it the following week and hopefully every week thereafter! It might not be a full blown gym membership, but it IS a buddy workout, cardio, weights, and free. =D

New Goal?

Well, since I reached my microgoal, I guess I need to set a new goal.

I know that I want to...

• Lose another 5 lbs (taking me to 110)
• Tone my arms, legs, and abs

But I'm not sure how to put those into a measurable goal. I don't have a specific deadline in mind, because I don't have any specific events coming up that I want to use as a timeframe. I do know that I want to do some hiking this summer (Mom and Me hikes should be starting in another couple weeks!) and that I'd like to do the Bikini Workout to get my arms and abs toned. I've been thinking, too, about the Couch to 5K program that I dropped a while back. So here's what I'm thinking...

MWF I'll do the C25K routine for the next 2 months. That will get me running either inside or outside and hopefully I'll be able to run 3 miles at the end of it. It will also change up my exercise routine since I need to do that about now anyway. TTH I'll do the Bikini Workout to get my arms and abs toned. And hopefully, by the end of the 2 months I will be more toned, be able to run 3 miles, and be 5 lbs smaller, too!

So that's it. That's my intermediate goal. To run 3 miles and lose 5 lbs in the next 2 months, so by... let's say by Ellie's birthday, July 19! Okay... it starts Monday!

Jillian Says...

According to Jillian Michaels, here's what will help me lose weight:

Based on your answers: I've calculated where you are today, and where you want to be. Next, I'm going to help you get there. We can do this together. Ready? Weight: 121 pounds Activity Level: Low	Your Reasonable Weight: 97-123 lbs Your Target Weight: 105 pounds Activity Level: Active Flexibility: Flexible

Your customized weight loss plan:

Based on your answers, here's my triple-threat plan for you. Losing weight is simple — 33% exercise, 33% diet, and 33% behavioral.

You're an Apple — but you can pare down!

Like all apples, you tend to store fat in your mid-section and upper body, so you're probably carrying extra weight around your belly and chest. Anyone can be an apple, but this shape is more common among men, and studies actually show that people who store fat in the upper body are more prone to cardiac disease. This should provide you with even more incentive to lose weight!

That's where I come in! I have exercises that will target your specific fat storage areas. My personalized program will help you alter your apple shape. But you got to get a grip — you can only win against genetics up to a certain point. Once you understand this, you can let go of unreachable goals and replace them with real ones.

I'll create your personalized exercise program based on the days you prefer to work out, the goals you set for yourself, and the exercises you enjoy. After all, if you enjoy your workout, it's easier to stick to.

I'll encourage you to:

Have fun aerobic dancing! Depending on intensity, you could burn 500 calories an hour.

Power walk. You can do it anywhere, and at 4 mph, you’ll be burning at least 250 calories an hour.

Run indoors or out. All you need are good running shoes. And at 5 mph, you’ll burn over 400 calories an hour.

You're a balanced oxidizer.

Because you crave fruit and bread as well as salty foods, cheeses, and meats, you may be a balanced oxidizer. This is the fancy term for your metabolic rate. It simply means that you need equal proportions of protein, carbs, and fat to process the nutrients in your food optimally, and to produce and use the resulting energy. Lucky you — your diet is the easiest to follow! You feel your best on a diet that incorporates a wide range of foods, and your ideal macronutrient ratio is 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. But the bottom line is, you have to burn more calories than you take in. That's it. And to really do this successfully, you have to eat the ideal diet for your body and metabolism. Believe me — I've struggled with this myself. And I've done a lot of research and work to figure out my ideal diet. And now I want to share my findings with you. I have recipes and snacks that will help you eat better for your body type. And I have secrets and tricks to make it easier. (I didn't say "easy.")

My 7 steps to behavioral modification

Lots of so-called "experts" talk about willpower. Well, I say screw willpower — there's no such thing! Sure, we all have fleeting moments of bravado. But that virtue comes and goes. I'm going to teach you some basic techniques to change your habits and program yourself against failure!

You are going to have to do the work, though. I don't want to hear that you don't have the time. If that's your excuse, then get back to me when you're ready. I'll be here.

Ready? Okay, good. Let's make some changes together:

1. Avoid dangerous situations. STOP driving by the doughnut shop on your way to work. When you go out to dinner, ask the waiter not to bring bread to your table.

2. Get a hobby. Start taking your dog on longer walks. Fix up your attic. By focusing on positive activities, you'll find yourself becoming more relaxed, happier, and thinner!

3. Curb mindless eating. Don't eat while standing up, and don't skip meals. Brush your teeth after every meal and snack. Food never seems as appealing when you have that toothpaste taste in your mouth.