Counting Calories

So the scale has not been moving in my favor for quite some time.  I can lose .2 of a pound but not anything significant.  I am still working out  a lot.  I usually walk outdoors 5 or 6 days a week.  So...what do I need to do differently?  I decided to start counting calories again.

I HATE counting calories.  I considered starting a food journal this summer but just couldn't motivate myself to do it.  For the most part, I just eat healthy and follow portion sizes. 

My mom is now trying to lose some weight, and she told me about myfitnesspal.com.  It is an easy online or mobile app. for counting calories.  This is only my second day to journal/track my food.  It seems easy enough so far.  I like the motivation once the calories are tracked:  if I eat every day like today then I will lose 5.4 pounds by October 06!  Now...if only I can stick to my allotted calories :)  You just have to enter your weight, height, and goal weight to get the calculation of how many calories to eat per day.  There is also an exercise tracker there too. 

I'm going to give it my best effort.  My plan is to stick to my allotted calories each day.  Last night I had 32 calories left so I went to bed when I started to feel bored/hungry for a snack.  It kept me honest. 

Results or excuses

This will be my motto starting tomorrow. I have been way too lax on eating and making excuses not to workout since returning to work.  No more excuses!!!!  Updates on this endeavor at a later date :)

Back to Work

So I'm back to work.  Last week wasn't a good week for healthy eating.  I went on several trips to restaurants with my colleagues.  It was so great to catch up with my work friends but not so great on the scale.  I admittedly do not do well when I eat out.  I usually have good intentions when I order but often  end up with a bad food choice. 

I must also get back to work with good eating choices and working out.  I missed two days of workouts this week.  When my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m.on my first day back to work, I literally couldn't figure out how to turn it off.  During the summer I rarely have to set an alarm. My daughter is an early riser, so I rely on her to start our day :)  Add up the different sleeping pattern, losing time due to work, and the lunches out all equal a not  so great weigh in.  I was up .2 of a pound today.  I refuse to keep moving up on the scale! 

Starting this week I won't be able to eat out any lunches so it is the official start to salad boot camp.  I only have 34 minutes to eat lunch, so leaving the building is never an option.  I have my salad ingredients and yogurt ready to roll.  I pack all five salads on  Sunday night and take them to work on Monday.  This way I am not tempted to go to the cafeteria or order out with anyone.  I can always say, "I already have my lunch." 
Hope everyone has a good week!

Where Did my Momentum Go?

Well, I managed to lose my momentum this week.  I taught a VBS junior high youth group with my sister and just didn't have enough hours in the day.  We were busy planning lessons, activities, and running errands all day. It was a rude wake-up call:  this is  what it will be like next week when I return to work. 

I missed two workouts: Tuesday and Wednesday.  So that means mileage wise I logged in 16 miles of walking and light jogging.  I also ate out too many times this week.  I hang my head in shame when I say that I had three, small DQ ice cream cones. 

I was expecting and preparing for the worse this morning.  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped on the scale.  Result: +.2 of a pound.  I was disappointed in myself but it wasn't as bad as I expected. 

Right now I am headed out the door to walk around four miles.  It is time to get my momentum and determination back!

I struggle to make time for myself when life is so busy. 

Results are In

So I need to update the Friday fact checklist.  When I weighed in on Saturday, I lost 2.2 lbs.  That is the most my weight has gone down in one week for quite some time.  I had really buckled down with food choices and made exercising a priority.  It seems so difficult to do both in the same week: workout consistently and eat healthy meals.  I hope to keep up my progress as I enter a new week. 

I return to work in less than two weeks and hope to stay on track.  Usually, my eating is much better during work.  I stay so busy at work I rarely stray off the path of salad boot camp.  However, finding time to exercise is harder when I have to work.  I just need to keep my head in "the zone" in order to keep up the good work. 

Wishing everyone a week of healthy food choices and fun workouts :)

Friday fact check

So this is my Friday fact check:  I'm just reviewing my week before my weigh-in day tomorrow. 

Fact #1: I have logged in 20 miles of walking and light jogging combined this week, and I did the Ab lounger for five days.
Fact#2: I did my salad boot camp all this week with the exception of today.
Fact#3: I ate a healthy dinner every night this week.
Fact#4 Snacking and craving unhealthy snacks is over! Thank goodness!
Fact#5: My lunch today (see fact #2) was a terrible but delicious choice - Chinese food....sigh...I know why couldn't I wait until tomorrow during my cheat meal.  In my defense, it was a get together with a family member that I know loves to eat Chinese food, so I was just being nice.  I know lame excuse!

So even though I didn't make good food choices today, I'm hoping all of my other hard work will pay off.  When I weigh-in tomorrow, I expect to see at least a small loss.