I just read back to when I started this blog, in January 2007. Eliana was just 6 months old! And I was 135 lbs with a BMI of 27. A healthy BMI is 25 or lower, and I was officially overweight.
In a year and a half I have lost about 30 lbs, if you count the last 5 lbs I keep losing and regaining. Right now I am down 17 lbs from where I was when I started the blog, and while I have been recording, I have been as low as 114 lbs, or 21 lbs lower than my starting point.
So on those days when I feel discouraged because I'm not making any progress, I need to remember that I HAVE made progress, and lots of it. I now have a BMI of 23, which is not only in the healthy range, but it's in the middle of the range, not on the "just barely" end! I have learned LOTS of healthy habits, and even if I slip away from them for a period of time it is easier and easier to return to them each time I do. I make better choices now than I did a year and a half ago. I have a better idea of proportion and calorie content in foods. Two years ago there is NO WAY I could have gone to the Bite of Bozeman and limited myself to 100 grams of turkey leg. I wouldn't have even been able to estimate what 100 grams is!
And so, while I have not reached perfection, I have made a lot of progress over the last year and a half. And that's what it's about, right? Progress, not perfection... This is a journey and I am trekking along. No matter what the scale is, I am on my way.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Maybe I SHOULD have joined the challenge!
I didn't want to join the weightloss challenge (you know, against other people, for money) because I just don't lose weight that quickly, and I'm getting down to the part where I have fewer lbs to come off, so they just come off slowly. But this week makes me think that maybe I SHOULD have joined the challenge!!! I weighed in this morning at...
118.4
WOW! I was at 122.0 on Monday, and today is Thursday. That's 3.6 lbs this week so far and I still have until Monday before my next official weigh in! I'm glad to be building in a buffer for the week(s) that I stall, as I inevitably will. But right now I'm high as a kite!!
118.4
WOW! I was at 122.0 on Monday, and today is Thursday. That's 3.6 lbs this week so far and I still have until Monday before my next official weigh in! I'm glad to be building in a buffer for the week(s) that I stall, as I inevitably will. But right now I'm high as a kite!!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I survived the Bite!!
And I even survived with calories to spare! Hooray! I was moderate and let Leif eat the larger portion of the turkey leg (though I do love those turkey legs! I'll eat more of one next year now that I know they're not nearly as caloric as I thought they were!) and I just had nibbles and bites of the other things we got. It wasn't nearly as fun this year, and I'm blaming it on the fact that I was keeping track of calories and writing things down. I wish I could have just gone and not worried about it at all, but I am BOUND AND DETERMINED not to fall by the wayside this time around! I have a weight loss schedule and I'm going to stick to it! And that means counting my calories.
I also drank my water today, a full 2 liters. That makes such a difference! As does starting my day in the Word, as I mentioned before. Oh, and Taylor and I went for a walk today, which means my morning walk was about 5 miles! It's better than nothing and I'm pretty sure I burned my 200 calories in that time. I hope I did at least!
Well, it's midnight thirty, so I ought to head to bed. The alarm is set for 7 and Ellie will most likely be up around that time, so I should be too. G'night!
I also drank my water today, a full 2 liters. That makes such a difference! As does starting my day in the Word, as I mentioned before. Oh, and Taylor and I went for a walk today, which means my morning walk was about 5 miles! It's better than nothing and I'm pretty sure I burned my 200 calories in that time. I hope I did at least!
Well, it's midnight thirty, so I ought to head to bed. The alarm is set for 7 and Ellie will most likely be up around that time, so I should be too. G'night!
Down again
The encouragement continues today as I weigh... I'm down to 119.4 this morning! I am excited to be .at my goal for Monday already, and I hope I don't have a sudden gain to put a bump in my plans! I really, really, really want to reach my goal this time, and I'm really hoping not to stall around 115 lbs like I always seem to do.
I am getting the rest of my life in order, too, and woke up to a shiny clean kitchen this morning, which was wonderful! That makes Eliana's room and the kitchen that are clean and decluttered. I don't know if I did an hour solid of housework last night or not, but I put effort in at least and am seeing results in both areas that are encouraging! My next room to tackle is the living room, which shouldn't be hard, but there is vacuuming to be done, and then I need to mop the kitchen while I'm doing floors. It helps that I'm starting my days with devotions (and recording them at lou52.blogspot.com, which seems to be helping), and even though I missed them on my way to get out the door yesterday morning (though I did start the morning with fellowship, which was wonderful!) I did them last night before I went to bed. What a difference this is making in my attitude! I hate that I forget how powerful the Word is sometimes.
So tonight is the Bite of Bozeman and I am eating turkey leg for dinner. It's the one time of year that I get it and I'm not giving it up!! But I will be sharing it with Leif (and Ellie, who loves them!) so I should be okay not over eating on it, if I make an effort to be moderate. I'll try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the rest of the day so that I keep my calories down and nutrition up, since I know dinner won't be that nutritious.
Well, I think I'm going to call Taylor and see if she's interested in taking a walk this morning. We are planning on exercising together anyway, and it looks like it's shaping up to be a beautiful morning, so we might as well go outside!
I am getting the rest of my life in order, too, and woke up to a shiny clean kitchen this morning, which was wonderful! That makes Eliana's room and the kitchen that are clean and decluttered. I don't know if I did an hour solid of housework last night or not, but I put effort in at least and am seeing results in both areas that are encouraging! My next room to tackle is the living room, which shouldn't be hard, but there is vacuuming to be done, and then I need to mop the kitchen while I'm doing floors. It helps that I'm starting my days with devotions (and recording them at lou52.blogspot.com, which seems to be helping), and even though I missed them on my way to get out the door yesterday morning (though I did start the morning with fellowship, which was wonderful!) I did them last night before I went to bed. What a difference this is making in my attitude! I hate that I forget how powerful the Word is sometimes.
So tonight is the Bite of Bozeman and I am eating turkey leg for dinner. It's the one time of year that I get it and I'm not giving it up!! But I will be sharing it with Leif (and Ellie, who loves them!) so I should be okay not over eating on it, if I make an effort to be moderate. I'll try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the rest of the day so that I keep my calories down and nutrition up, since I know dinner won't be that nutritious.
Well, I think I'm going to call Taylor and see if she's interested in taking a walk this morning. We are planning on exercising together anyway, and it looks like it's shaping up to be a beautiful morning, so we might as well go outside!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
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:
**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)
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)
**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)
Down today...
Well, I'm back down to 120.8 today, so that is a little encouraging. It still means I am 10 lbs from my goal, but I'm hopeful that I can reach that by my birthday (September 21, when your challenge ends, if I remember correctly!) if I keep at it.
This morning we had a big lawn party at the Vidmar's house (SO GOOD to see Jenn again, in her own home!) and I made a point to ONLY eat the fruits and vegetables. I stayed away from doughnuts, muffins, breads, and all the other bad for me things. I had carrots, pineapple, bananas, and grapes. And 2 cups of coffee, but I drank it black so it was calorie free!
Today I am trucking along on the calorie counting. We should be having lasagna for dinner tonight (I should get on that or we'll end up just having spaghetti instead!) so that will be fine. I need to drink more water, and I need to exercise at some point (maybe a family walk is in order this evening?) but I am encouraged by my little bit of weight loss and hope that with more work and moderation I can be down to 119 by Monday.
This morning we had a big lawn party at the Vidmar's house (SO GOOD to see Jenn again, in her own home!) and I made a point to ONLY eat the fruits and vegetables. I stayed away from doughnuts, muffins, breads, and all the other bad for me things. I had carrots, pineapple, bananas, and grapes. And 2 cups of coffee, but I drank it black so it was calorie free!
Today I am trucking along on the calorie counting. We should be having lasagna for dinner tonight (I should get on that or we'll end up just having spaghetti instead!) so that will be fine. I need to drink more water, and I need to exercise at some point (maybe a family walk is in order this evening?) but I am encouraged by my little bit of weight loss and hope that with more work and moderation I can be down to 119 by Monday.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Disappointment...
Well, as you can see from the picture, I didn't do such a good job with my eating during our campout. There were s'mores and snacks, and I drank very little water. In fact, I drank lots of pop and juice and lemonade, but not much water. That was bad.
The discouraging part came before all of that, though... before we'd even eaten dinner that very first night. I had two people (TWO!) ask me if I was pregnant. And it wasn't just because our daughter is 2 and that's the current society's timeframe for a second child. No, one of the two commenters actually admitted that they thought I LOOKED pregnant. As in baby belly. Yeah... that was really discouraging.
Of course, the second discouraging thing was then after telling them that I was NOT pregnant they started asking when we were going to have more, etc. What am I supposed to say? Does every passing person REALLY want to know that we have been trying for the last year but that I lost a tube along with the baby in May and that makes things a little more complicated?? So I just smiled and said that someday we hoped to have more kids but that Ellie is plenty active enough to keep us busy right now. Of course, then I had looking pregnant and not being pregnant on the brain all night (in addition to trying to keep track of Ellie among the crowd of people) so our camping trip didn't start out so happy for me. But Ellie did fine with the camping and sleeping in the tent and the next day was much better. So much better, in fact, that we decided to stay for a second night. It was good. It was a fun trip and I'm glad we learned that Ellie camps well.
But food... I did not do so hot at being moderate, I fear. And the scale reflected it this morning. But today I stayed on track ALL DAY! I drank 2 liters of water, ended the day within my calorie range, went for a short hike (not much, but better than nothing!) and planned meals for the coming week. It felt good to keep track and stay on target. I'm just hoping I can keep with it.
Oh, and I started my morning with devotions, which always makes a big difference.
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