*GASP*

I just entered my dinner information (1/4 Pickle Barrel Sandwich - Turkey and Provolone) and... *gasp* I went over on my calories for the day. This is the first time it's happened since I started tracking 2.5 weeks ago. I'm shocked. I was sure I could eat the sandwich and still be fine. Oops. So my total for the day is 1355 calories. It's only 55 calories over, but wow. I can't believe I misjudged.

Anyway- The good news is that I really enjoyed my sandwich (I ate half of it last night for dinner, and the other half as leftovers today.), even though I told them not to put the oil and vinegar on it. I LOOOOOVE The Pickle Barrel's oil and vinegar. Turns out they still put the herbs on it, even if not the oil. Score!! That makes me so happy. Mmmm.

I've been pretty moderate lately, I think, which is good. Especially in the face of temptation. Like the cake at the Museum of the Rockies reception last night. Leif had a piece. I had a glass of water. I had a half slice of pizza after my first instead of a full-blown second slice. And I didn't even eat any dressing on my salad - just the lettuce and tomatoes.

So, life is good. But I still think maybe I need to do some aerobics or something tonight to make up for that sandwich overage today. Who knew? Seriously... I'm baffled. Should have entered it first and then eaten it. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Body Clutter Mission #7

What habits have you already established in a normal morning and evening routine?

I have my flylady habits that I more or less follow for morning and evening. I'm not as consistent as I would like to be, but my routines are basically...

Morning:
Get Up
Shower
Swish and Swipe
Get Dressed
Make Bed
Breakfast

Evening:
Think About Tomorrow
Get Ready for Bed
Sleep

Now add a new babystep connected to it for you to practice.

If I'm looking for a health related babystep to add, I think the best one that I can do right now is to add exercise to the list. I think it's actually in my control journal already, but I haven't been using my CJ every day. I should.

Do you have a calendar and stickers that you can use to chart your success?

Yes. I have the flylady calendar and stickers. I also have this blog that I use to record successes and progress. I am using SparkPeople to track my calories and exercise, and I have a WLJ in which to record my successes. I think I'm set on this front.

Weigh Day - Week 3

Well, I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 128. It's a pound more than I was a few days ago, but a pound less than I was a week ago. 3 lbs in 2 weeks - still not too bad.

As for my discouragement, I realized that it's just my perfectionism rearing it's ugly head again. Did I really forget what I wrote for #3 on the last Body Clutter Mission? It's all about attitude and I let my stinkin' thinkin' get the better of me for a day. Well, I am here to say that losing weight is like putting money into stocks - you can't freak out the first time you see your stocks drop. Let the money sit for a while and things will even out and there will be an upward trend, if you've chosen well. So I'm going to keep plugging away at my calorie counting, exercising, and recording and hope to see a downward trend as time passes. There will be ups, there will be downs, but there will be progress. And that is what I'm looking for.

Discouragement

I am getting discouraged. I have been very careful about what I eat, making sure I do not go over 1300 calories daily. I've been going for a walk most days, and burning at least 950 calories per week. I was down to 127 last week. Then I weighed myself and I was at 128.4 for two days. Now this morning I'm at 129. What???! I didn't exercise over the weekend, but at most that should slow down my weight loss, not make me gain! I know this is probably just normal weight fluctuation, but it is discouraging.

I figure one of four things needs to happen:

1. I need to follow the food pyramid to make sure I'm getting a balanced diet.

2. I need to exercise more, and not just taking Ellie for stroller walks. I need to do aerobics, walk on the treadmill, hike, etc.

3. I need to limit my salt intake. Maybe that's causing me to retain water.

4. I need to make sure I get enough fiber in my diet so that I stay fuller longer and stay regular better.

Now... which to implement immediately.

Calorie Calculator

Leif found this calculator that will help you figure out what your basal metabolic rate is, how many calories you burn in a typical day's activities (excluding exercise), and how many calories you burn overall each day. I thought it was interesting, and was surprised to learn that I was right about this all along. I've always thought that 1200-1500 calories was right for me when I'm trying to lose weight and that 1700/1800 was about what I needed to maintain my weight. Sure enough, the calculator agrees with me.

Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 1239 calories per day
Typical daily activities: 619 calories per day
Total calories burned: 1858 per day

Now for a little math:

So... assuming I am not exercising at all, if I take in 1200 calories and am expending 1850, that gives me an excess of 650 calories a day. 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. So if I don't exercise at all, just reduce my calorie intake to 1200, it should take me a little over 5 days to lose 1 pound. But if I do exercise and burn, say, 250 calories a day, four days a week, that adds another 1000 calories to my expenditure. For each week, then, I have an excess calorie expenditure of 5550 calories and should be able to lose a pound and a half each week. If I lose 1.5 lbs each week from now until I reach my goal, I will weigh 110 lbs by August 20th!

Weight Loss Journal

I've decided to make a weight loss mini album to track my progress as I try to lose weight this summer. Taylor gave me some coasters she got at a garage sale, so I'm using those to make my book. I used MME papers and lots of stamps - mostly Purple Onion stamps. I love those things!

I titled my WLJ (weight loss journal) "Lose It For Good" though in hindsight I wish I'd called it "Body Clutter." Oh well.
I started with a LO about my goals and plan. I have 3 goals going into this...

1. Lose the last 5 lbs of my pregnancy weight (I'm only 1 lb away from reaching this goal now!!)
2. Lose an additional 15-20 lbs by September 1st (I've got a class reunion coming up then!)
3. Lose the last 5-10 lbs to get down to my doctor prescribed "ideal" weight.

My plan to lose this weight consists of...

• Limiting my calorie intake to 1200-1300 calories daily.
• Drinking 64 oz of water daily.
• Doing 45 minutes of cardio at least 4 times a week.

I am including a LO for each week until September, or until I reach my goal. I will include different things for different weeks, but each week I will have the dates covered in that week, my starting weight for that week, and progress I've made or successes I've had during the week. This is the LO from week 1. I am in week 2 right now.

Healthy Weight!

It's a beautiful day to celebrate weighing a healthy weight again! I weighed myself this morning and I've lost another 2 lbs, which puts me at 127. And that brings my BMI to 24.8. They say a healthy BMI is 18.5-24.9, so I am finally out of the "overweight" category!! That is a wonderful thing. One more pound and I will be down to my pregnancy weight, meeting goal #1!!