21 Days to Fit

Ugh. I am feeling bloated and the weight shows it. It's my "period" time (I don't have a period because I have an IUD, but I have Pms symptoms). Can I weigh in tomorrow instead?

Weight: 146.6 lbs (-0.6lb)

Body Fat %: 23.3% (-0.3%)

Body Water %: 54.6% 

I ate candy today at work and it ruined my calorie intake. Super food for dinner though- I had a kale salad with egg, olives, feta, tomato and cucumber! Yum yum 

I walked 3 miles after work. Tomorrow I will avoid the candy drawer, which should save me at least 200 calories!

22 Days to Fit

So, today I end the first week and, I did really well! I am not 150% sure I was under my calorie goal for the week! but I know I was really close. I definitely hit the 2600 calorie burn goal, which was challenging but doable. 

This week, I've decided to lower both my food and exercise goals by 350 calories per week. I'll aim for 1,350 in eats every day, and an average output of about 325 calories per day. This will still put me at 1.5 lb loss this week if all goes to plan. 

I'm also going to try to increase my protein consumption as much as possible. I wish I was eating 40% of my calories as protein! but I know that's just aspirational. I have plenty of chicken and fresh veggies for meals this week, as well as 11 hard boiled eggs and slim fast protein powder!

This weekend felt like it was go go go. I wish I had had some downtime, because I anticipate this week being tough at work. I'm considering taking on a new position, or at least interviewing for one, because I'm just not satisfied with my current job. It's sad... You spend so much time at your job, it should really me something you enjoy.

I'm looking forward to weighing in tomorrow to see my true progress.  For now, here is a picture from last weekend at my very favorite Mexican restaurant. This is a good friend from out of town who visited for a concert!

23 Days to Fit

I have had a very productive Saturday! I slept in til about 9, and went to the gym for spin class at 10:30. There was a substitute, and the class was SO hard! I really enjoyed it... It wasn't like I couldn't keep up, but I didn't outshine anyone, and I was huffing and puffing at the end. 

I met a girlfriend to get my nails done and my car washed, and then met another friend who has been living out of the country. It was really exciting to see her, and we went to out favorite pizza place, but I just got a soda and a water. 

I picked my boyfriend up from the airport and we had to go to a baby shower for a coworker. I couldn't believe how loud it was there. Children make SO much noise! I ate a burger and some pasta salad, but since I've been pretty good today I have room for dessert with the love! 

I think next week, I am going to reduce my calories to 1300 and reduce my cardio burn to 1900. Still the same effect, but I will get a little more of a break. 

Tomorrow I will make a plan for the coming week. Still 3 weeks to go before I weigh in, so that's plenty of time to tweak my plan to reach my goal as easily as possible 

24 Days to fit

I weighed again this morning, which I said I wouldn't do but I couldn't help it.  Still 144.something. Weird right? I guess the 149 was a fluke.

Calories today were over the top. 1900. I'll figure out how much that leaves for the rest of the weekend, but I don't think it's much. I did use a heart rate monitor while I was out doing my interval runs. According to the heart rate monitor I burned nearly 600 calories, but I just find that so hard to believe. Granted, my heart rate was very elevated. I did 1 min run 1 min walk over and over. My hip felt fine but my lungs were exhausted. 

I bought a huge produce basket at work. Only $18 and boyfriend said he would split it with me. He is gone all next week so I'm going to end up eating most of it myself!  I'll have to make a conscious effort to cook!

25 Days to Fit

This is going to have to be a very fast blog, because it's almost midnight and I need to get to bed!

I had a recruiting dinner for my firm this evening in Athens, GA, which is about 90 miles away from Atlanta.  I love going back to Athens because it's where I went to school, but the drive after a day of work is just no fun!

I worked from home today because of the recruiting event and because I had a dentist appointment this morning.  I didn't get to go walking/running on my lunch, but i did walk to and from the dentist, which is almost a mile and a half total.

Food today was:
Breakfast: Special K Drink (I am out of these now!)
Snack: Cafe Misto
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chow Mein, chewy granola bar
Snack: Tortilla Chips and Salsa, Pear
Dinner: Balance Bar
Snack: Mixed Nuts

Total calories: 1260

Calories left to eat this week: 4,675 (1,550 on averaged this weekend)
Calories left to burn: 1,247 (415 on average this this weekend)

26 Days to Fit

I really need to not step on the scale every morning.  This morning I stepped on and it said 145.2!  Not POSSIBLE!  You don't lose 2 pounds in a day!  Crazy.  Maybe I'm dehydrated, maybe the scale is off, or maybe 147 was wrong!  Whatever it is, I'm going to weigh in again on Monday with a "real" weight, and see how I'm doing.

So, day 3 was hard.  I slept in, so I had a late breakfast, and then I didn't snack before lunch.  I think that caused an issue, because after lunch I was feeling some cravings. It was almost like I just wanted to put food in my mouth.  I was a little bored at work, which could have had something to do with it as well.

There was a birthday, and I didn't go to the cake celebration, but I did get some leftover frosting.  I think it was only a few tablespoons, but it was still NOT part of the plan.  I was disappointed in myself, but given that I've been under my calorie goal for the last two days, I'm not too disappointed.  I think I can bounce back and be successful the rest of the week.

My hip is feeling sore after yesterday's run, but I need to get in some calorie burn today to keep on top of this week.  I plan to let my dinner digest for about 30 minutes, and then use the elliptical for 45 minutes.  Low impact will be good, and I can go easy if I need to.

Tomorrow I am working from home because I have a dentist appointment in the morning and a recruiting event in the evening.  I'll be gone at the recruiting event from 4-11pm, and of course, there will be food and alcohol provided from 8:00-9:30.  I believe it will be a buffet/appetizer type of dinner, which is the worst kind.  Over exposure to food drains my will power.  I can say no the first 2 times, but if it's there for 2 hours, I'm afraid I'll indulge.  I plan to eat a snack before I hit the road at 4, and bring a Balance bar with me.  This protein bar doesn't taste the best, but I think it will fill me up if I eat it right before 8.  I'll make sure to have logged all my calories so I know where I'm at before I get to the buffet, and I'll sit facing away from it if possible.

Miranda, I found a protein drink from Slim-fast that has 20 grams protein.  I think I'll buy those for the rest of this month.  I like the special K ones, but I just want to try to up my protein intake and see how I do.  I definitely don't want to eat chicken for breakfast!

Today's intake: 

Breakfast: Special K drink 

Lunch: Hard Boiled Egg and Chicken Caesar salad

Snack: hard boiled egg, frosting and carrots

Dinner: veggie burger with a slice of cheese and salsaon an English muffin.

Total calories: 1395

Calories left to eat this week: 5,935
Calories left to burn this week: 1,775 (haven't worked out yet, but I assume this will be 1,375 when I get back)

27 Days to Fit

Yesterday's weight was at 149. I weighed in after work, and it had been some time since I weighed in, so I didn't have a great idea of where I should be.

This morning I wanted to weigh again to capture my body fat % and here is what I came up with:

Weight: 147.2 lbs

Body Fat %: 23.6%

Body Water %: 54.4%

If this is correct, then I think I should start my 6 lb goal from here.  But what if I'm dehydrated? I will say that an end weight of 141.2-143 on October 22nd will be considered as hitting my goal. Think that's fair?

I read a small article in Women's Health that stated "for optimum fat loss, aim for 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up." I KNOW that when I eat protein I am less likely to snack. And when I eat breakfast, I'm more balanced throughout the day. But 30 grams?! How do I manage that?

I looked in my fridge and I have hard boiled eggs (6g), Special K protein drinks (10g), milk (8g), and Greek yogurt (13g). If I eat 3 of the 4 for breakfast, I'd be close... But that's a lot of food!

Maybe I need to incorporate meat into my mornings, or find a drink with more grams. Thoughts?

Today's workout: Jogging and walking.  With my hip issues, I need to take it easy and avoid hurting myself, so today I ran a total of 2 miles at a 4.5 mile/hour pace.  I feel like some people could walk at that pace!  The last half mile my hip felt like it was talking to me, but I'm glad I finished!  It was a little disappointing to only get to 350 calories when I was on the treadmill for 60 minutes, but I guess that's how it works!

Today's intake: 

Breakfast: Special K drink 

Snack: hard boiled egg

Lunch: Lean Cuisine French Bread Pizza

Snack: hard boiled egg and carrots

Dinner: chicken breast with a slice of cheese on an English muffin.

Total calories: 1220

	Weekly Calorie Goal	Weekly Burn Goal
	9,800	2,600
Monday	(1,250)	(475)
Tuesday	(1,220)	(350)
	Calories Left to Eat	Calories Left to Burn
	7,330	1,775

28 Days to Fit

I recently got injured. About 3 weeks ago I decided to try some daredevil stunts because everyone else was doing it, and I bruised my head, arm, and hip.  I had to head to the doctor for some serious painkillers because the bruising kept getting worse and I was having trouble walking. During this time, I was also working some very long hours, and not taking care of myself the way I know how to.

Fast forward to today and I've gained back the weight I initially lost and am out of shape from being so immobile. I've decided to spend the next 4 weeks taking care of myself; treating my body like it is important to me, and ensuring that my injury heals properly and without delay. I am going to spend the next 28 days dedicated to my health and wellness, which means putting my body and mind before work, date nights and happy hours. 

Will it be easy? No. I'm a social person who loves to spend time with friends, and I enjoy eating at new restaurants and celebrating a Georgia Bulldog win with some beer. I also am driven to work hard, and long hours comes with my profession. I'm aware of the obstacles, and I am up for the challenge. 

My current weight is 149. My goal is to lose 6 lbs in the next 4 weeks. I don't have any plans to starve myself or go to drastic measures. I don't see myself exercising every day, or NEVER eating a piece of chocolate, but I do believe that you can do and endure ANYTHING for 28 days, and this is very important to me. 

I'll be logging in every day to send an update of what I'm doing, how I'm eating and most importantly how I'm feeling. 

To maintain my current weight, I would need to consume approximately 1,800 calories per day. A deduction of 750, which would equate to 1.5 lbs per week would put me at 1,050, which is too low. Instead, my goal will be to eat an average of 1400 calories per day (or 9,800 per week in total), and burn an average of at least 340 calories each day (or 2,600 calories per week).

When you do that math, it seems simple..  I know I'll have some slip ups, but I plan to identify trouble areas and plan ahead. 

Today's workout: spin class. First one since the accident- I plan to take it easy. 

Today's intake: 

Breakfast: Special K drink 

Snack: hard boiled egg

Lunch: Chicken Caesar salad

Snack: raspberries and carrots

Dinner: boca burger with a slice of cheese on an English muffin.

Snack: 1 piece of dark chocolate and a Greek yogurt

Total calories: 1250

Checking in. I'm around. Still sort of reading when I think about it. Busy season at the office so I resolve to be better in the fall.