liveandbreath

i’m not trying to deter people from using this BuddySlim, this site is great! and we all have a great network of buddies and support here! But i stumbled across “sparkpeople” and it is a really well designed helpful tool that can be used in addition to this site. I like the tips i get emailed daily from “SparkPeople.com” and there are several other articles and things that the site has to offer. Also, i find it a bit easier to keep track of my food intake since they include my weekly progress at the bottom of the nutrition page. That feature allows me to see at a glance if i’ve been keeping a low calorie count all week long, as well as how i’ve been doing with my protein, carbs, and fat intake.

i recommend that anyone who’s looking for another outlet for inspiration and perhaps an easier way to keep track of progress check out “SparkPeople.com”. And the story behind the person who built the site is even more inspiring yet.

check out a review of the “SparkPeople.com”

there’s also a SparkPeople channel on you tube with work out videos

so i did some soul searching this week.  I’ve decided to stop calorie counting (at least not as obsessively as i have been).  Many of these calorie plans just do not take into account the individual enough.  I really think i need to listen to my body rather than what a diet plan says.

I had literally so much work for grad school this week that i went a few nights with no sleep at all and went home only to shower and change for my presentation in the morning.  So working out did not happen this week.  But I think that’s OK, i needed some time to really think about my body and how i want to make it healthier in the healthiest way possible.

My friend Becca at school has gradually worked up to running about 4 to 5 miles a day over a period of three months.  She has lost probably between 5 and 10 pounds during that time.  She is similar to my body type and started out three months ago at about the same size i am now.  I’d really like to use her as motivation and as a guide for myself.  I would like to approach loosing weight the way she did - just eat when i’m hungry and stop before i’m full, choose healthy stuff most of the time and work out everyday.  I know that sounds so obvious but for the past few months i have been calorie counting and often not eating enough to keep up with my workouts, which would lead to burn outs and then over eating because i was upset about going off track.

so i am resolving to put away the calculator and listen to my body instead.  I also plan on not weighing myself too much, i like to notice the difference in my weight by the way my clothes fit not what the scale says.  Lastly i need to make time to work out every day.  Over the past few months i went down 6 pounds then back up 6 pounds… i think making a lifestyle change the way Becca has will get me to eventually loose those 6 pounds or more the healthiest way possible, and hopefully once i get there i will be so energized and happy for my success i won’t want to stop running/exercising.

Using this approach rather than obsesively counting calories will get me to my goal probably a month or two later than if i counted calories every day.  But at least i will be happier day to day, my body will be satisfied, i will be improving my overall health rather than running myself down and in the end, once i reach that goal i may not only stay there but i may exceed my expectations.

So as i titled this blog - slow and steady wins, i have to stop assuming that the faster i lose the pounds the better i will feel and the happier i’ll be.  I’m going to put my focus on how fast i can run and how far.  Trying to improve my endurance and physical preformance each day i work out is a much healthier thing for me to focus on than how many calories are in that packet of ketchup i just put on my chicken.

thanks for reading =)  i’ll keep checking back with my buddies and blogging along the way, this is going to be quite a long journey but hopefully mostly a fun one.

While i was taking my “free day” yesterday - which may have been triggered by the fact that even though i followed my 1,500 calorie plan strictly with exercise i did not loose another pound this week - I did some research about the approach i should take starting today (saturday) so i can loose at least one pound by next weekend. I think aiming higher (eating few enough calories to lose about 1.5 pounds) will help me loose at least one pound in a weeks time.

I stumbled on this website called free dieting and learned about an eating strategy i had not heard of before called “calorie cycling”. On this plan i will be eating more calories on some days and less on others, but the total amount eaten at the end of the week will be more than enough to loose 1.5 pounds! The reason people need to cycle calories sometimes is to trick their body, because often when we eat the exact same amount of restricted calories each day our body thinks it’s starving and slows down the metabolism to cope (or eats away at muscle!)

I am on the higher end of my “healthy weight” range, i technically don’t need to loose weight, but i just want to be able to fit into my skinny jeans again, that’s all i ask! I wore those jeans when i started grad school a year ago, i’d like to wear them proudly again, but my body is working against me, it must have thought it was starving all last week on my strict 1,500 cal a day diet and started to slow down that metabolism - which is why my weight did not budge.

So this week i have my new approach, i’m going to exercise everyday and burn at least 200 calories while cycling the amount of calories i eat every day so i can hopefully trick my body it into loosing at least one pound by next weekend!

Thanks to Buddy Slim i think i am actually getting back on track today after having a “free day” yesterday - and i must admit that free day went into the night a little bit too. I had a lot of bad for me food, but it was just one day/night after two weeks of staying on track and now i’m back on track today, i’m not going to let that slip up throw me off for the rest of the week - i can be stronger than that!

Lastly - i was wondering if any of you do calorie cycling? i hope it works for me, we’ll see next weekend what the scale says - i am currently 136 pounds - height 5′4”, if i get to 135 i will be a happy girl.

I hear many people incorporate “free days” into their diet plans.  On these days i think people are allowed to eat whatever they want, as long as they get back onto their diet and workout plan the following day for at least a week.

I went about two weeks on my 1,500 cal diet while working out daily without taking a free day, and today i just couldn’t help myself and i gave into my cravings.  I know logically it will take longer to loose weight if I have a free day every now and then.  But i heard it’s still “ok” to have them.

I think i would give up completely if i didn’t allow myself one day a month to give into my cravings.  Many diets (Body For Life in particular) allow one free day a week for psychological reasons, because pretty much everyone would go off their diet eventually if they were not ever allowed to have what they crave.

So i was just wondering what your thoughts are about free days, and if you allow them for yourself?  do you think one free day a month is ok?  Thanks for your input!

I think the reason I have been able to stay on track is I finally realized i need to work my diet around what i enjoy to eat, not just what i think i “should” be eating.  Those healthy bars and shakes are great every once and a while, but having them every day can cause boredom and make it easier to cheat and ruin the diet.  So instead I try to incorporate a moderate amount of food I enjoy with each of my meals and snacks.  In doing this I have even discovered some really healthy snacks/meals that i love, but never knew i would enjoy before i tried them!  Below are some of my favorite foods that can be used in different ways:

d’light breakfast sandwiches, lean pockets (sausage or bacon, egg cheese), Egg Beaters with a slice of skim cheese, turkey sausages or turkey bacon

Thomas lite whole wheat english muffins,with Better’n'Peanut Butter and cut up banana on top

Baby carrots and hummus — one of my favorite snacks!!

 fat free cottage cheese and lite yogurt

 skim milk and “eat rite chocolate syrup”

 i could go on for a while, but those are some of my current favorites, and i really look forward to each one, rather than dreading my next protein bar or shake that i have to force down.  I highly recommend the hungry girl daily emails, they have helped me find some yummy healthy products that keep me on my diet which doesn’t feel so much like a diet after all. =)

I can feel the difference physically, in the energy i have throughout the day and my ability to fall asleep easily at night, my body is finally happy again.

It would thank me for eating healthy and moderatly everyday, for exercising everyday and getting a decent amount of sleep every night.  It has taken a little over a week of staying on track, but finally my body has adjusted to this new healthier diet and it is thriving.  The first week was hard, i felt dizzy and tired because my body wasn’t used to the lower calorie intake and more intense workout schedule.  But now it has finally caught up with my good habits and my new lifestyle is working in my benifit.

These good feelings, increased energy and ability to complete my workouts are things i need to focus on day to day.  Because when i look down the road ahead it seems like my goal is so far away.  But i need to take it one day at a time and listen to my body saying “thank you” because this truely is a lifestyle change.  Even when i reach my goal i plan to keep up these healthy habits so my body won’t go back to feeling sluggish, tired and mal-treated again.