I know my status changes have made me seem like one of these uber skinny chicks who has never had to struggle with my weight or eating, but I’m here right now to prove you wrong and maybe lend a little assistance to those of you who are struggling. Let me give you a quick run down:
I am 4’11” and I weight 150 lbs. My measurements are B: 38″ W: 28″ H: 42″.
According to my Ideal Body Weight I should weigh around 95 lbs. According to my body mass index I’m just crossing the line into obese.
Now that I’ve thrown a ton of numbers and words at you that don’t seem to mean much. And here’s something I’ve discovered over the years. I’ve been trained in health care. I’ve been between a size 2 and a size 12. Weight doesn’t matter unless I’m dosing drugs for you. Here is what matters: Your health, your muscles, your energy, and your happiness.
I may never be back down to a size 2 again. When I was that small I was sick. I want to be able to go hiking, rock climbing, and run around without wearing out. I want my waist to be small again because I know the wider my waist the harder it is on my heart. I also want to stop craving food to the point where it’s the only thing I can think of.
Today I’m going to share with you some of the difficulties and helpful hints from my friends who are doing this challenge with me. So here we go:
My most difficult challenge is not lying to myself and holding myself accountable. I am lucky enough to have an Ipod and an Itouch so I use the 
Livestrong Lite App. It’s pretty handy. It takes a running tally of what you’ve eaten, how much you’ve eaten, how you’ve exercised, and how long you’ve exercised. The app tallies the calories for you. The ultimate goal for weight loss is to reach a negative total number. You can always do a total in a little food journal book. You can use www.livestrong.com or www.calorieking.com (these site are also handy if you are a diabetic and need to find the carbs in food).
So how did I decide how many calories to cut out of my diet? Well we tell our patients to go between 1200 and 1500 calories for weight loss. I work 10 hour days standing so I know I won’t get a lot of time to exercise. I knew I needed to pick a lower calorie count in order to get a deficit of calories. Not to mention I am in need of more stringent guidelines since I like to cheat.
I really like to exercise, but here in Arizona at this time of year it is hell on earth to find the right time when you don’t have to wake up at 4 am so you don’t die of heat stroke. And the other problem is that between work and my hobbies sometimes it’s hard for me to make working out a priority. There’s a group I really like that helps a lot though:
www.toneitup.com is amazing. You can find all their work out videos on youtube and here is the plan I’m following: http://toneitup.com/blog.php?Bikini-Series-If-you-missed-it-5112
I really enjoy it because you do something different every day and it really works on cardio and toning. There is something the two girl say that I really like: “You’ll never regret a workout.” I think this is important because there are days I’m tired or I don’t want to take 15 minutes and work out because there’s other stuff I want to do, but I have never laid down at night and said “ugh, why did I work out?” I have, however, gone to bed and though “Oi! I forgot to work out!”
I talked to a couple of my friends that are doing this plan with us and here are some things they told me. They’re both in way more amazing shape than I am, but they both struggle too so getting their feedback helps, I think!
Rachael said that doing this week was harder for her because, even though she doesn’t have the problem that I do with invading the fridge, she has a harder time getting motivated to work out. She just moved all the way to New York and the bipolar weather has been making life a little harder. One day the weather is nice so she wants to go outside and exercise and the next day it’s raining. She said it is a little more helpful that she knows I’m working out too, but it would be easier if I was in the same place so we could work out together.
I totally agree. I really wish she was here to work out with because doing it by myself and working it around my and my families schedule can be rough.
Yousuf said that each persons weight loss needs to be individual. Some people want to get ripped. Some people just want to get in good shape. It’s best to understand what you want and go for that goal, but you have to keep your eyes on what you want. That can help keep you motivated.
Keeping my eye on what I want has definitely helped this week.
What helps you? What have you been doing to keep yourself on task? What do you have the hardest time with?
Great points! I know finding the motivation to find time to workout can be more difficult then the actual workout, but afterwards it is always worth it!
I agree with a lot of your points. I think with a lot of goals for exercising, as well as life in general, its crucial to get an honest assessment of where you are at and a clear picture of where you want to be. There’s many people who want to “get fit” but it needs to be specific and tailored to that individual person as Mr. Yousuf stated.
There is a lot of talk between external and internal motivation, and here is a place where it can play a vital role. I like mixtures’ thoughts about her concerns for her health. This will be a stronger driving force than other people who are simply going to the gym because others think they should.
I also think its very important to set goals that not only clear and measurable but realistic as well. That’s the best way to see if what changes you made have been beneficial but also what changes have been detrimental.
The fact that a group of you guys are doing this together is an outstanding idea. You guys sound like a awesome group of people.
Sorry for being so long-winded. Good Luck!!! 🙂
I think the one thing to CONSTANTLY keep in mind, especially for me, is that it’s all the little things that count. Exercise does not have to be an hour or two, but just performing one set here or there as time permits is okay AND beneficial. And all those little extra snacks and bites do add up.
As a former athlete, I think I frequently get sucked into the mind trap that if I can’t do a long/hard workout, it does not count and so why should I even attempt anything less? Or that I deserve that candy/sweet as a reward.
So again, just a repeat mantra : It IS all those little things.
And do I hear an echo?…”You’ll never regret a workout”…
Gotta keep working on that self-accountability. 🙂
Oh and I also wanted to say that KNITTING keeps my hands and/or mind busy enough that I don’t want to snack during movies, hanging out, boredom etc. Thank you wonderful fibers (and MixturesRX!)!