Time, time, everything takes time! weeks 11 & 12 weigh in

One thing I'm realizing that all this food tracking and exercising takes T I M E!! And like the rest of you, I already had precious little extra of it...  when I have competing priorities, I have been focusing on this part of my journey (i.e. weight control) as much as possible. Something is gotta give though, and lately that 'something' has been my work - probably not a good thing since it's my only source of income! The advantage/disadvantage of working for myself - I can pick and choose where to spend my time, to a degree, until it becomes procrastinating...  Uh oh, there's that "P" word!

I love what I do, and that I have this flexibility to work as much or as little as I want - but lately it's all I can do to check my email in the evening after doing a workout and entering my daily food intake... Frankly, it's exhausting. I can't get much done during the day since my boys are home full-time, so by the time they're in bed, workout is complete and MyFitPal has been updated, I'm wiped!  Isn't all this exercise supposed to GIVE me energy? Maybe my food isn't fueling me properly... Hmmm, will have to take a closer look. Or perhaps it's the fact that it's already after midnight as I'm typing this?  Ya think?

Good night all!

Week 11 update:
BMI: 28.44
weight: 82.2kg (yikes! not good) 

Week 12 update:
BMI: 28.06
weight: 81.1kg (need to get back on track with workouts and eating better)

What a difference tracking makes! weeks 9 & 10 weigh in

I can feel the weight leaving my body, and it's mostly because I'm paying CLOSE attention to what I'm putting in my mouth. Once again, and probably for the most accurate time, I'm logging my food intake. As mentioned in my last post, I'm using a free, online tool at www.MyFitnessPal.com to enter my daily eating and exercise amounts. And, WOW, what a difference - I lost 4 lbs in one week!  The biggest difference in my food intake is my sugar. I've begun regularly using Stevia (see my post about this wonderful, natural sweetener) in my tea and eating spoon-sized Shredded Wheat for breakfast - it's one of the few cereals that doesn't have any sugar. This way I don't start my day with my sugar allotment in a negative position!

Armed with the knowledge and confidence that I CAN lose weight on my own, I made an appointment with Herbal Magic to see if their program would be a good fit for my needs. It's a shame they won't let you benefit from their one-on-one counsel and branded journal without forcing you to buy and consume their supplements.  I suppose that's how they make a profit, but I was truly disappointed that it was going to cost me approximately $100 per lb lost*  - and that was almost all in supplements.  I can see how their program is beneficial to people with a lot of weight to lose, who need to develop a whole new mindset around eating, and have good-paying jobs!  I'm glad I spoke to them though, now I can tell my husband how much $$ I'm saving by tackling this weight, head-on (or hip-on!), on my own - with his support.  :-)

(*my calculation based on my personal goal divided by total fees, that is not their payment model)


Week 9 update:
BMI: 27.75
weight: 80.2kg (wowsers! broke another kg threshold this week - below 81kgs now!! In fact, this is the exact weight I was the first day I did the WiiFitPlus Body Test, Christmas day, 2010)

Week 10 update:
BMI: 27.82
weight: 80.4kg (not bad considering we were on holiday this week and I wasn't tracking my food intake)

Bob Harper is making me sweat! - weeks 7 & 8 weigh in

I've never actually watched a full season of The Biggest Loser, but I like the concept and picked up a previously-viewed copy of the game for Wii from Blockbuster (seriously, who would rent the game for a week?). I have to say, I'm enjoying the workouts - they really make me sweat, and the part I like most is that the 'game' automatically schedules the workouts into the calendar. So all I have to do is check in each day and see what workout, if any, I'm scheduled for. Then I just have to click on the workout and it sends me right into it!  Couldn't be easier. Wii Fit Plus has pre-determined workouts too, but I found there was a lot of switching the remote from hand to pocket, etc. which kept interrupting the flow. TBL workouts only change the remote when necessary, and actually accounts for which hand/pocket it is in for the next routine. Certainly has a better flow.

Making progress with my diet. I signed up with MyFitnessPal.com and have started using their diet diary function. What I like about it is there is a huge database of nutritional information for all kinds of foods - that OTHER PEOPLE have already gone through the trouble of entering! It's great. Today, for example, I had a Danone Creamy yogurt - in there. I had a Caramilk ice cream cone - yep, it's in there. Tim Horton's tea and coffee, various combinations - although that one I had to create my own combination, but there were all kinds already there!  And the other great thing, once you create or use an item, it is added to your 'favourite's list' so then it's super easy to add to another day's entry.  Love it!

Week 7 update:
BMI: 28.55
weight: 82.5kg

Week 8 update:
BMI: 28.30
weight: 81.8kg (wahoo, broke the 82kg mark!!)

Happy Canada Day!!