My Kingdom for a Cookie

Ohmygawd, seriously craving fresh peaches right now.

Time to include some cardio in my day.

I have started the Couch to 5k program, yay!

9 Weeks, 3 Workouts Per Week.

Week 1, Day 1 done.

weightadamnminute:

lostgained:

minusmuffintop:

and trying to loose weight follow me and I’ll follow you back! I’m 230lbs right now and I need some people to be in the same situation as me

SW: 283lbs.

CW: 240lbs. :)

255(: 

226

(via allowmetocaptivate)

I highly recommend tracking your calorie intake.  For me, I had absolutely no clue how much I was eating, or how many calories were in the items I consumed on a daily basis. You will be amazed at how skewed your estimates may be.

I personally recommend SparkPeople.  The site is super easy to follow, free, and also has a free phone app that syncs with your online account.

The great thing about SparkPeople is that it makes tracking things super easy.  It helps you determine your calorie needs, and also has fitness and cardio features.

The real bonus to SparkPeople is that it has what is called Daily Feedback.  At the end of the day, I can click Daily Feedback and the program will break down what I ate, even showing a pie chart of your intake, by food, by % of calories, and by fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

Whatever program you choose, use it faithfully.

For the first day or two, don’t change your diet.  Just track EVERYTHING.  Input every little thing that goes in your mouth, including those 3 french fries you ganked from a buddy at lunch.  The more honest and accurate you are the more successful you will be.

By tracking what you are eating now, you will be able to see what you are doing wrong, and right.  Compare the number of calories you consume, to the calorie intake you calculated in Step 1. 

As you work more with the program, you will begin to learn which foods you eat tip the scales, literally.  Suddenly that extra bowl of cereal isn’t worth the 400+ calories it adds to your day.  Or you may see that 2 cans of soda amount for 25% of your calories!

It is all about understanding the value of the foods you put in your mouth.

Thinking of gaining control of your body?  Ever wonder how much you REALLY eat? Wondering how the hell you figure out how much you should be eating? Now is a good time to start.  Here is the process that I am following:

1. Weigh yourself.  Try not to freak out about the number, it is all relative.  Your starting weight could be someone else’s goal weight!  Plus, knowing your weight doesn’t make you fatter or skinnier, it is what it is.
2. Measure yourself.  Your bust (ladies), waist, and hip measurements are excellent indicators of how successful your efforts are.  Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may weigh about the same, but become 2 pant sizes smaller.  Plan on measuring, oh, every 2 weeks.
3. Determine how much you should weigh. You can use a site like this.  Now, remember, this is only a guess.  A bit more to a bit less than the recommended weight may still be acceptable for your health. This will be your goal weight 
4. To find out how much you need to lose:  starting weight - goal weight = pounds you need to lose.
5. Determine your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  BMR is the amount of calories your body needs for basic life functions.  You can use this calculator.  Knowing this will help you determine how many calories you need to consume to lose weight.
6. Determine the best calorie deficit for you.  Calorie deficit (CD) is part of what makes weight loss possible.  Example:  Imagine your body needs to use 2500 calories daily to function.  If you create a deficit of 500 calories, meaning you only consume 1500 calories, your body has to find an alternate source to meet that 500 calorie need.  Your body will then use your energy stores (fat) to gain these calories.  Over time, you will lose weight as your body uses your stored fat.  It is not recommended that you go below a 1000 calorie deficit.  Too little calories may send your body into survival mode, where it will attempt to store every calorie consumed.  Not helpful.
7. Now to put it all together:  BMR - CD = # of calories to consume each day.
8. How long will it take me to reach my goal weight?  This calculator is great for finding out about how long it can take, assuming you maintain a steady weight loss. Option 1 is with a 500 calorie deficit.

Now, none of this is guaranteed, but it is a great way to get an idea of where you should be.

As a child, I was naturally slender.  Not skinny, just healthy.  

I can remember FAR back into my childhood, like, laying in my crib as a baby.  So, from about 18months to age 5, I ate, played and felt like a normal kid. Somewhere around age 6, things changed.  My body didn’t change but my perceptions did.  

During this time, my mother was dealing with a lot of memories of her childhood, and being a new mother herself brought up bad memories.  She struggled with how she could love me SO much, yet her mother had shown her no love as a child.  Couple this with “grown up” issues that I was to young to understand, Mom was going through a painful revelation in loving yourself and others.  To cope with her feelings, Mom ate.  I could see that Mom was deeply wounded, and I wanted to make things better for her. I didn’t know how to make things better, so I became her partner.  If she ate, I ate too.

One of our guilty pleasures was graham crackers with frosting on top.  I remember sitting on the counter while mom spread the noxiously sweet frosting across the square in sweeping strokes.  It was damn good, and it felt good too.

So, as she coped, I coped.  Does this mean my mom made me fat?  I don’t feel that way, but it did lay the ground work for an unhealthy relationship with food.  My mother is amazing, and I wouldn’t change her for the world.  If she “made” me fat, then it is a small price to pay to be blessed with her as a mother.

On top of using food as a coping mechanism, I was a physically inept child.  I had no discernible physical talents, and every attempt my mother made at helping me stay active was a disaster at best.  I joined a soccer team, which when it had a coach, was led by an alcoholic who spent most of the practices watching us run around like cats on a griddle.  We made one goal our whole season, and lost the point due to a flag on the play.

I joined dance and tumbling, where my lack of coordination really shined.  Trying to follow a routine and maintain rhythm seemed an impossible challenge for me.  I remember at the dance recital, I had received the wrong size costume.  With no other options, I had to shimmy into a too-small leotard, my baby fat encased like a little sausage.  This was the first time I ever felt fat.  I was humiliated and mortified to be on the stage, and though I put my best face on, it was in that moment that I learned to hate my body.

After two weeks of hovering at 228,  I am at 227 lbs today.  It may not seem like much, but every bit counds!