Today I recorded my food. I ended the day at just over 1300 calories. Not bad, considering it was my dad's birthday, so we ate out and had cake.
More importantly, today I EXERCISED. 20 minutes on the elliptical machine this evening. 200 calories burned. It felt both good and exhausting to exercise. I really need to do that more! Ideally, I will exercise first thing in the morning, but today, I am just happy to get exercise in. It is a process, this building of habits that I am doing.
Tomorrow, I will record my food and I will exercise.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Recording....
Today I recorded my food. Calories were fine. I came in around 1250 calories, and ended up in the right range for most of the categories. I was a little low on protein, but that's fine. I'll work on fine-tuning as I go. I was especially proud of the choices I made today while going out to eat for lunch at Cheddar's. I ordered edamame and a cup of chicken tortilla soup. Not only was it delicious, but it kept me pretty full for most of the afternoon. I did need a snack around 3, but that is par for my life.
So... today, I weighed. Today I recorded my food. Tomorrow... exercise. I can do this.
So... today, I weighed. Today I recorded my food. Tomorrow... exercise. I can do this.
Belly Fat
I have belly fat. It's not really a secret, especially for anyone who has met me in person. But it is something I don't like to think about, talk about, or, apparently, do anything about. You can't do anything to target fat in a specific area of the body, but it's the thing I like least about myself. If there's one thing I could change about my body, my belly would be it. After I had Eliana, everything went downhill (literally!) and I have been discouraged about it since.
One of Dr. Oz's resources has a few recommendations for reducing belly fat and, once again, they don't seem all that hokey. Hmm... am I noticing a theme? Here are the suggestions (and reasons behind them)...
1. Reduce refined sugar intake. - Insulin tells your body to store fat, and when your insulin levels are high (like when they are dealing with refined sugar) they tell your body to store more fat. By lowering your refined sugar intake, you allow the insulin levels to fall and your glucagon (what he calls a "fat-releasing" hormone) to rise.
2. Strengthen the legs and butt. - Your legs and behind have the largest muscles in your body, and are going to burn the most calories when they are strengthened. Not only that, but by having stronger legs and butt, they are going to do more work as you go about your every day, making all of the movement you do in a day more effective.
3. Do 20 minutes of cardio in the morning before you eat breakfast. - This will prime your body and tell it to pull fat from the stored fat in your body as opposed to the meal you just ate.
So those are the 3 things that Dr. Oz recommends for getting rid of belly fat. You can also do exercises to strengthen your core, but unless you get rid of the fat around your middle, you won't actually see any change in your midsection. My plan for working my abs is to get back into Aerial Dance in February.
One of Dr. Oz's resources has a few recommendations for reducing belly fat and, once again, they don't seem all that hokey. Hmm... am I noticing a theme? Here are the suggestions (and reasons behind them)...
1. Reduce refined sugar intake. - Insulin tells your body to store fat, and when your insulin levels are high (like when they are dealing with refined sugar) they tell your body to store more fat. By lowering your refined sugar intake, you allow the insulin levels to fall and your glucagon (what he calls a "fat-releasing" hormone) to rise.
2. Strengthen the legs and butt. - Your legs and behind have the largest muscles in your body, and are going to burn the most calories when they are strengthened. Not only that, but by having stronger legs and butt, they are going to do more work as you go about your every day, making all of the movement you do in a day more effective.
3. Do 20 minutes of cardio in the morning before you eat breakfast. - This will prime your body and tell it to pull fat from the stored fat in your body as opposed to the meal you just ate.
So those are the 3 things that Dr. Oz recommends for getting rid of belly fat. You can also do exercises to strengthen your core, but unless you get rid of the fat around your middle, you won't actually see any change in your midsection. My plan for working my abs is to get back into Aerial Dance in February.
That's not good...
I stepped on the scale this morning. I was off on my weight. By quite a bit. That's not good. My BMI is actually 28.7. It looks like I have some work to do. And by some, I mean a lot of work to do.
I would love to lose 40 lbs by May. I don't think that's feasible.
I think 20 lbs by May is much more realistic, though still a challenge.
If I go with 11% of my body weight, that's 16.17 lbs. Dang. That's a lot of poundage.
I am officially at my biggest weight ever, save when I was very close to giving birth to Eliana. Even then, only by a few (less than 10) lbs.
My life has GOT to stop revolving around food. It CANNOT be my source of comfort, my emotional stability, or my celebration. It is very difficult for me, though, to keep the pendulum from swinging the opposite way and depriving myself of food and the enjoyment of food. How do I keep in perspective the idea of "food for the body, not the body for food"? I don't know.
Step one, though, today, is to record what I eat. Start gaining a realistic look at what I am consuming on a daily basis. That's my goal for today: Record what I eat. All of it.
Step 1: BMI - DONE
Step 2: Record Food - TODAY
I would love to lose 40 lbs by May. I don't think that's feasible.
I think 20 lbs by May is much more realistic, though still a challenge.
If I go with 11% of my body weight, that's 16.17 lbs. Dang. That's a lot of poundage.
I am officially at my biggest weight ever, save when I was very close to giving birth to Eliana. Even then, only by a few (less than 10) lbs.
My life has GOT to stop revolving around food. It CANNOT be my source of comfort, my emotional stability, or my celebration. It is very difficult for me, though, to keep the pendulum from swinging the opposite way and depriving myself of food and the enjoyment of food. How do I keep in perspective the idea of "food for the body, not the body for food"? I don't know.
Step one, though, today, is to record what I eat. Start gaining a realistic look at what I am consuming on a daily basis. That's my goal for today: Record what I eat. All of it.
Step 1: BMI - DONE
Step 2: Record Food - TODAY
Sleep...
One of the things that the Dr. Oz show talked about is getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. That's something I want to work toward. If I want to get up at 6, I need to be asleep by 11, which means being in bed by 10:30. If I want to get up at 5, it's 10 and 9:30. If I'm not getting up until 7, it's midnight and 11:30.
Those seem reasonable to me, now I just have to work at not piddling around before bed and actually getting there on time.
Those seem reasonable to me, now I just have to work at not piddling around before bed and actually getting there on time.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Pitfall: Prepackaged foods for Eliana
I purchase prepackaged foods for Eliana partly because it is easy to grab on the go, have on hand for times I need a milk-free snack for her, and because until we move into our new house I do not have bento / lunch supplies on hand.
So.... I am working to re-think what I buy for prepackaged food for Eliana. What specific foods do I fall prey to?
Instead of buying her FRUIT SNACKS I am going to buy her DEHYDRATED FRUIT SLICES.
Instead of buying her OREO COOKIES I am going to buy her ANIMAL CRACKERS or sometime similar that doesn't tempt me.
Those are the two that come to mind right now and are perpetual downfalls. So... replace one with the other. That's my first step.
So.... I am working to re-think what I buy for prepackaged food for Eliana. What specific foods do I fall prey to?
Instead of buying her FRUIT SNACKS I am going to buy her DEHYDRATED FRUIT SLICES.
Instead of buying her OREO COOKIES I am going to buy her ANIMAL CRACKERS or sometime similar that doesn't tempt me.
Those are the two that come to mind right now and are perpetual downfalls. So... replace one with the other. That's my first step.
Food...
I watched a segment on Dr. Oz today with my mom and, while I don't actually like Dr. Oz or his show, found some of what he had to say interesting. He was promoting his 11 Weeks to Weigh Loss in 2011 plan. It is basically composed of 3 steps:
1. Calculate your BMI (mine is, by my best guess on my weight right now - I'll weigh in the morning, 26.75)
2. Record your food in a food log - everything you put in your mouth (I am planning to use Spark People for this)
3. Exercise 30 minutes per day
Now, that doesn't seem too hokey, so I thought I'd see what else he had to say on the subject. There was a section on eating for your body type, and since I couldn't figure out if I am a "belly-fat" person or an "all-over-fat" person, I simply combined the suggestions for both. They seemed complimentary, so I don't see a problem with that. Here is what was suggested:
I am trying to figure out what my pitfalls are so that I can see them coming and avoid them... one is having pre-packaged foods for Eliana on hand. I tend to munch on them when they are around.
If I am going to go for 300 calorie meals and a couple 100-200 calorie snacks, I need to make sure that I have a plan in place. That's what I'm working on.
1. Calculate your BMI (mine is, by my best guess on my weight right now - I'll weigh in the morning, 26.75)
2. Record your food in a food log - everything you put in your mouth (I am planning to use Spark People for this)
3. Exercise 30 minutes per day
Now, that doesn't seem too hokey, so I thought I'd see what else he had to say on the subject. There was a section on eating for your body type, and since I couldn't figure out if I am a "belly-fat" person or an "all-over-fat" person, I simply combined the suggestions for both. They seemed complimentary, so I don't see a problem with that. Here is what was suggested:
- Concentrate on a diet high in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) such as... olive oil, peanut oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds
- Eat whole grains
- Eat plenty of fiber
- Cut carbs in half and double vegetables
- Replace sugary snacks with fruit
- Do 30 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning
I am trying to figure out what my pitfalls are so that I can see them coming and avoid them... one is having pre-packaged foods for Eliana on hand. I tend to munch on them when they are around.
If I am going to go for 300 calorie meals and a couple 100-200 calorie snacks, I need to make sure that I have a plan in place. That's what I'm working on.
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