The Thanksgiving Day Jitters

Thanksgiving is just a couple short days away and I am semi-terrified. I know that it would probably be best if I allowed myself to have a taste of some of my favorite foods, but I just don't know if I can or, more accurately, if that's a very good idea. It took me a good 4 days to get myself back on track after eating one slice of German chocolate cake a couple weeks ago and I don't know if I am ready put myself in that position again.

I'm in a mild ketogenic state and I want to keep it going for maximum fat loss! I invested in some Ketostix which measure the amount of Ketones in your urine. In the absence of glucose or sugar, the body obtains the fuel it needs by breaking down body fat. The result of this fat breakdown is that the liver produces fatty acids which produce ketones. So, when using Ketostix, you can tell how efficiently you are burning fat due to your low-carb diet and exercise program. It is important when doing this to also consume large amounts of protein (approximately 1 gram for each pound you weigh) to prevent the body from breaking down muscle tissue for energy. I've lost 21 pounds and 2 dress sizes in 7 weeks using this nutrition plan.



We have one remaining weigh in before the end of the Biggest Loser and I want to do well. Regardless of the outcome I will still have a gym membership for 3 more months, but it would be really nice to win some more free months by placing third. I don't care about winning as much as being healthy and I am willing to put in the work in the gym. The thing is... after March I won't be able to afford it.

I'd say, "I'm crossing my fingers" or "I hope it goes well," but screw that! I'm not just going to sit around and hope/wish that things magically end up the way I want them. I am going to PUT IN THE WORK. If I don't place in the top 3, no big deal. At least no one can say that I didn't try.

Some Days You Win, Some Days You Don't Play The Game

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Mostly I am just writing because I challenged myself to 90 posts in 90 days to help hold myself accountable. Nutrition-wise, today was great. Exercise-wise, today was not so great. I had told myself I was going to go to a fitness class today, but I came up with every excuse in the book for why I shouldn't go. I told myself I could save money by not using the gas for the 40 minutes round-trip and that I could just use the elliptical and other pieces of equipment in my home (which I didn't). Some of the other excuses included things that I should do that I also put off, such as studying for my licensure exam and writing "Thank You" cards.

Tomorrow is a new day.

90 in 90 Challenge/ Biggest Loser Program

I've decided to challenge myself to 90 posts in 90 days, no matter how short. This is similar to what some substance abuse programs suggest (90 AA/NA meetings in 90 days). Let's face it, food is most certainly a substance that many of us get addicted to. I recently had a slip (mini relapse) after eating a full slice of my own, homemade German chocolate cake. That one piece of cake had me fiending for simple carbohydrates for days. Before eating the cake, I was hardly craving carbs at all due to the nutrition plan I have been on since early October.

The Biggest Loser program I am currently a part of has us on a 60%-20%-20% macronutrient plan.

What does that mean? Well, firstly, the major three macronutrients that we need in order to function are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Carbohydrates are essentially anything that comes from the ground and consist of sugar, starch, and fiber. As we all know, not all carbohydrates are made alike and complex carbs are better than simple carbs. So, 60% of my calories are supposed to come from protein, 20% from carbs, and 20% from fat.

How do I calculate that? First multiply your current weight by 7. This will give you your daily caloric intake target.

Protein: Multiple your total calorie target by .6 (60%) to get the total number of calories per day to consume in protein. Then, divide that number by 4 (there are 4 calories per gram of protein) to get the number of grams to aim for. 
Carbs: Multiply your total calorie target by .2 (20%) to get the total number of calories per day to consume in carbohydrates. Then, divide that number by 4 (there are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate) to get the number of grams to aim for.
Fat: Multiply your total calorie target by .2 (20%) to get the total number of calories per day to consume in fats. Then, divide that number by 9 (there are 9 calories per gram of fat) to get the number of grams to aim for.

I use My Fitness Pal to keep track of my nutrition and exercise. There is an option to within the "Goal" tab to customize your goals. If you don't feel like doing ALL of the math all you need to do is set your daily caloric intake target and tell it what percentages you want to aim for in terms of the macronutrients.

This is the bare bones of the initial Biggest Loser nutrition plan. More on this later...

I am NEVER. Giving. Up. Period.

I have been deciding for months whether or not I wanted to start blogging again. I originally thought that what was holding me back from blogging on this particular subject was a lack of motivation, but now I realize it was probably more of a lack of faith in my ability to follow through with weight loss. Over the past couple of years I have had a lot of false starts, but I don't think that is the case now.

So, if you didn't know, at the end of 2009 I reached my Weight Watchers goal weight of 137 lbs and even got down to 132lbs. After I started grad school everything went right out the window! My grandfather died, I had a minor existential crisis, and I began eating my feelings again. On top of being a grief-stricken, full time grad student, I was also balancing multiple jobs to make ends meet. I was spending a lot of time in the car and driving from client to client. I have a tendency towards trying to be perfect at everything, but I'm usually only able to master one role at a time. I ended up being a successful student to the detriment of most other areas of my life. The area that took the biggest hit was my health.

So much happened after grad school. I got married, went on my honeymoon, was lucky enough to land a great job right out of graduate school, and closed on a house just under a year from graduation. Even the positive things in life bring stress and my drive to achieve certain things definitely interferes with other goals. I tend to be so consumed with that one thing I want that everything else fades away.

After all of those events passed, I realized that I had no excuses left to justify not attending to my health and weight. By this time I had gained 30-40 pounds in a one year period and weighed 211 pounds. I decided to take the rest of my flex spending and enroll in The Biggest Loser program at a gym 20 minutes away from our house. Since October 10th I have lost 17 pounds and am down to 194. I am completely motivated and I hope to use this blog to share with you what happens along the way on my journey to reach a healthy weight.

Why Do I Fight it?

I really don't understand why I fight it. I just finished day 1 of the fitness challenge. I completed a 20 minute circuit routine on Jillian Michael's Fitness Ultimatum 2010, 15 minutes cardio on my elliptical, and a 5 minute ab routine. I feel wonderful! However, it's now 10 o'clock at night and I still have some reading to do.

I also wanted to share a product with you that my friend introduced me to. For all those who love hummus as much as I do, check out Super Hummus by Nasoya! It is only 1 POINTS PLUS(PP) per serving. So, I just made a delicious low carb wrap with hummus, lettuce, carrots, and orange bell pepper as my post workout snack for a total of 3PP. I am about 5 points under target today, but I think my body is still recovering from the weekend.

Hitting the shower, then reading before bed. Tomorrow it's back to the grind, but hopefully my focus on activity and nutrition will fuel me through the long days. Today also marks 1 week without caffeine!

Fitness Challenge

Today starts day 1 of the fitness challenge.

So far, I only have two friends participating in the challenge with me, but I think it's going to be fun. This months' challenge is to be active five days a week for 30 days for a minimum of 30 minutes. Every time we complete our activity we are going to text each other with what we did and for how long. If one of us doesn't meet the challenge for the week, it starts over. Only when the 30 days are completed will we move on to the next challenge.

I want to start the challenge off with a bang by working out on day 1. I am really looking forward to having some support in fitting in exercise. I haven't had caffeine in a week and my goal is to use a combination of a morning exercise routine and proper nutrition to get me charged for long days of graduate school and work. BUT, I need people to hold me accountable for what I say I am going to do. I should probably get off of the couch right now, but I am 1.) very hungry and 2.) have a lot of homework to do.

Time to figure out what I am going to eat for dinner. I have 21 points left for the day, but I don't see that happening. One thing I LOVE about the new WW program is that you don't have to eat all your points every day. Some days, I'm just not that hungry. I am so glad they are focusing on how satieted you feel.

Confessional:
St. Patty's day I had three beers. I don't usually drink beer, but I'm part Irish and it was a holiday. Cost=10 flex points
I ate 1/2 a piece of greasy pizza after a bottle and a half of wine. I'm pretty sure my flex points are gone. Cost=most likely the rest of my flex points.

So after dinner, it's time to Move That Body

Sweet Serendipity

Sweet Serendipity by Lee DeWyze sums up how I am feeling about today.

Early today I wrote about wanting to go back to Weight Watchers, but was feeling unable to pay the $12/meeting. Sweet serendipity stood in today! I was in JCPenney's looking for something to get with my coupon ($15 off $15) when I ran into my old WW Leader and receptionist! I found out that I only have to weigh in and pay once a month and can go to as many other meetings as I want! 45 minutes later I was in a meeting.

I feel so energized right now. I love the positive energy in the meetings and the support cannot be paralleled. I've tried doing it online, but I need person to person contact.

When I went to go step up on the scale I knew exactly what it was going to say, so I asked if I could start fresh. I didn't want anyone to say out loud "you've gained 25 pounds in 6 months". Not that anyone would really say it like that, but in my head that's what it would sound like. So, new starting weight! New goals!

I am completely re-charged. I got out my garage sale "price" tags to label the cost of my food and took my measurements. I thought of posting my new "before" picture on here. Should I?

Current measurements:
Bust- 40"
Natural Waist- 32"
Belly- 37 1/2"
Hips- 41 3/4"
Thighs- 26 1/2"
Arms- 14"

I just finished a glass of wine. WHO CAME UP WITH THESE SERVING SIZES? Four ounces...really? I went by the meniscus!

Anywho...time to work on those inches and get on the elliptical and watch the end of American Idol!