These pictures were taken at the beginning of the first Insanity where I had to stop after two weeks and right before I hit my heaviest (move out/in week...pretty comparable add 2-3 lbs).
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| I am NOT a morning person. |
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| I have horrible posture... |
What I did NOT mention in my last post is that, though not exercising, I was inspired by my sister-in-law (Mary's blog) to start tracking my calories with http://www.myfitnesspal.com. This website allows you to nutrition information on almost any brand/type of food and allows you to add information for foods not listed. It also has a recipe option where you can put in the ingredients for homemade food and tell it how many servings it is to give you a calorie count (I *love* this option). It also gives you a range of calorie limits for your goals (gain 1 or 2 lbs a week, maintain weight, and lose 1 or 2 lbs a week). It suggests to go for the 1 lb a week goal, so I opted for that. It also takes into account any exercise you do. I did not schedule any exercise into my routine for losing weight, so any I do is just a bonus of calories out!
I thought this would be hard, but so far it has not been. I have been over on calories a total of three times and two of them were by 10-20 calories, the third day was after I donated blood and was ravenous. I found I can still eat all the foods I crave and not feel hungry. The trick? Portion control. I try to limit myself to actual serving sizes, or less (Instead of two scoops of ice cream, 1/2 cup). It satisfies the sweet tooth and keeps me in check (I also like cookies/cake/kit kats all of which have been included in my diet since starting). You can eat out, but everything at restaurants is typically higher calorie, too large of portions, and more expensive than making it at home. I also found a great way to cut calories is to trade turkey or chicken for beef.
Since I started September 22 I have officially lost 10 lbs and I was re-taking my starting measurements for Insanity and realized that from the pictures above to now I have gone down in *every* measurement...most notably I lost !four! inches around my waist. That is crazy! Especially since I have just been cutting calories and not exercising much (two random yoga classes and a little more walking around campus). Calories in < calories out=weight loss. It really can be that simple. Just make sure that if you follow this method you are eating diverse foods and getting enough calories (no less than 1200 a day) so that your body is healthy, gets the vitamins and variety it needs, and you do not put your body into starvation mode (which can make losing weight harder).
What About You? Are you trying to lose/gain/maintain weight? What works for you and what does not?
I am trying to gain weight, and nothing seems to be working. I did ask a doctor and they told me to just thank the Lord and shut up!
ReplyDeleteBeing underweight has its own drawbacks. If you are trying to gain weight, I would look at the website I've mentioned above, they have a calorie counter that can help you gain some weight. Eat more calories than you put out (also, see what a healthy weight for you would be first!) and then go ahead. I think the real trick is to eat more healthy foods, not just load your calories in junk food! I used to not be able to gain weight and then my metabolism slowed, so be careful to keep an eye on it! Good luck!
DeleteI actually was registered at My Fitness Pal but I didn't manage to gain weight although I ate the number of calories they advised me to. You're right though, I need to eat more of protein and depend less on chocolates to fill my calorie counter!
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