A Few of Resources

One book that I've found interesting is Eat This, Not That. It gives good ideas on healthier food substitutions.

Also I found this site the other day: http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm. It helps you figure out how many calories you've burned for a certain activity. Kind of interesting.

One more thing: I like the magazine, Prevention. I think you can sometimes get free copies at the pharmacy. It has good short articles on weightloss and healthy living. http://www.prevention.com/cda/channelpage.do?channel=weight.loss

Discouragement

Whenever you are trying to improve yourself, in any way, you are bound to have setbacks. I have gotten discouraged several times throughout this weight loss process. Usually this happens when I go drastically over my calories (4-500 or more) or when I reach what feels like a plateau and I'm not losing as much as I think I should. But the only thing I have be able to do about it is to just forget about it and keep going and the weight eventually comes off.

In July I went on vacation and for 4 days I didn't count any calories. By the end of the trip I had gained two pounds! But I didn't give up, I got home and started keeping my food journal and dropped those pounds and more. I've found that vacations, holidays, barbeques, potlucks and even just eating out are hard times to keep calorie control. Sometimes I have to label a day as a "free day" or eat less the next day to compensate for what I ate the day before. This is called zig-zagging and it's also a good way to keep your weight from plateauing too. Instead of keeping your calories consistent each day (which is nigh unto impossible to do) you eat more some days and less others in a week. This helps your body not get into a routine.

I think they main point here is don't beat up on yourself for setbacks, just call that day or two a wash and move forward. It's so worth it. Good luck!

More on Calorie Counting

I try to think of my daily calories like I do the hours in my day. Just like I don’t want to waste the 24 hours I have in a day, I don’t want to waste the calories I am allotted in a day. One of the hardest things to do is put down and stop eating something that you’re not really enjoying or you don’t think is worth your calories, but it is so important! If I’m eating a brownie that isn’t great I try to give it or throw it away, instead of wasting the calories.
For me I try to allot my calories this way, adjust for yourself as necessary:

Breakfast 300 calories
Snacks 100-200 calories
Lunch 400-500 calories
Snacks 100-200 calories
Dinner 500-600 calories
Snacks 100 calories

This puts you between 1500 and 1900 calories per day, which is great. It is better to spread your calories out through the day than to eat a lot at one time. This way you can burn your calories throughout the day, instead of them going straight to fat. So those snacks are important! Any snack that is 100 calories or less and is bigger than a tablespoon is good, that way you can have two if you need them between meals.

When counting my calories at the end of the day I have to do a lot of guessing, when I can’t find an exact calorie count. When I do have to guess I always overestimate a bit, just so I’m not consuming more calories than I think I am.

Ok that’s all for now. Best of luck.

For Teresa: Before and After

Teresa wanted me to post before and after pics. Hopefully there will be a few more in the coming months.

January 2009 vs. August 2009-I've still got a ways to go, but good progress!

Accountability

Another thing that helps when you are beginning to lose weight is to tell someone about it and keep them up to date on how you are doing. In a way it makes you accountable and motivates you to keep going. This summer I told my co-worker who I spend a lot of time with about my calorie counting. She saw my notebooks and knew what I was trying to accomplish. She was also working on losing weight, so we could talk about our triumphs and setbacks. It's great to have that kind of support system.

This blog is kind of the same thing for me. I can't as easily go back to my old ways when I've announced to the world what I'm doing. So please make comments and be part of my support system and I'll do the same for you!

A Word about Excercise

Most people think that a weight loss program must include long hours at the gym every week. I thought so for a long time, and it actually deterred me from starting a weight loss program, until I read this article, The Myth of Exercise: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html and reflected on my own recent weight loss. At the beginning of starting my program I decided I would go to the gym at least three times a week. That didn't last very long and now really I don't know the last time I've been to the gym, but I'm still losing weight. What I have been doing is walking or biking around my neighborhood a few times a week (for about 30 min.) and doing some hikes and walking to and from the bus stop a few times a week. Nothing super strenuous, just trying to stay active and it's worked!

The article I refrenced above cites a recent study that found while vigorous daily excercise (like at the gym) is good for cardiovascular health, it doesn't necessarily help in weight loss. And not for the reason you might think. Yes it does burn calories, but the study found the people who worked out tended to eat more calories after working out than they burned off because they were hungrier and that they were more sedentary throughout the day to conserve energy for their workout. Interesting...

Anyway, what I want to get across is that activity is good and contributes to weight loss, but you don't have to kill yourself at the gym to get it! I think that is heartening news, Good luck!

What to Eat

The best thing about my plan is that I can eat pretty much whatever I want-just in moderation. But I will say that some foods are better than others for keeping you under your calorie limit and keeping you full.

Here is a short list of my new favorite low calorie snacks:

Zucchini-you have no idea how much zucchini I have eaten this summer, I think it is my magic diet food. It is only 31 calories for a whole medium sized zucchini, so you can eat a lot of it! Fry it up with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese, or make vegetable lasagne or zucchini crisp. Honestly the possibilities are endless.


Actually most vegetable have very few calories. 10 small snack carrots are only 30 calories.



String Cheese (low fat mozzerella)-70 to 80 calories-gives you protein and is delish.



Pretzels (in a bag)-48 small pretzel sticks are only 100 calories!



All fruit Strawberry bars-80 calories and a great treat when you're craving sweets



Quaker granola bars-90 to 100 calories-a good snack.



Low fat Cottage cheese-90 calories for a 1/2 cup.


Watermelon-only 46 calories for a cup of diced watermelon and it is filling too.


Triscuit Thin crisps-15 crackers for 130 calories


Any fruit-most servings of fruit are less than 100 calories (my favorites are blueberries and peaches).


It's really important to snack throughout the day. When I let myself get too hungry then I start reaching for unhealthy foods to fill me up. A little snack every hour or two really helps me.


Now as to what to avoid.


Avoid Fatty foods-This is not because I count up my fat grams for the day, I don't, but fatty foods are very calorie dense. For example 1 tablespoon of butter is 100 calories! That just doesn't go far. Also peanut butter is between 180 and 190 calories for two tablespoons. I'm not saying never eat these, but don't eat too much in one day.


Ice cream-I could put this under fatty foods but it deserves its only category. The truth is not all ice creams are created equal. Dreyer's Loaded Cookie dough ice cream has only 130 calories for 1/2 a cup, not too bad, but Haagen Dazs Cookies and Cream has 270 calories for half a cup! That's a not so good. Actually the Dreyer's ice cream is very good, a great alternative to other ice creams.


Soda, juices, etc.-these are just empty calories, don't fall for it. They don't fill you up and add a lot of calories.


Candy bars-Again there is the not so bad (100 grand-190 calories) and the bad Peanut Butter Twix (280 calories).


Anyway, I know none of these ideas are a revelation, but just some good ideas I have discovered on my way. Good Luck!