This past week I was clearly unable to take our LO out in the jogger because of the weather (lots of rain and cold) and because he had his first cold. I'm pretty sure doctors frown upon taking your sick kid out on the cold weather. LOL.
However, I did get in another circuit workout followed by a 1 mile jog on Wednesday. Friday was also cold and rainy so I just walk/jogged 2.5 miles on the treadmill. My circuit did get me a bit sore. Holy moly! I haven't done a push up in about 2 years. So that was great fun. We've also been trying to transition P from three naps to two naps per day. That's a story for another day. Sigh. If only the act of parenting could qualify for physical activity or make you gain muscle :) ... my husband and I would be ripped!
Get
It Started Circuit
- 50 Jumping Jacks
- 50 Crunches
- 45 Jumping Jacks
- 45 Squats
- 40 Jumping Jacks
- 40 Push Ups
- 35 Jumping Jacks
- 35 Crunches
- 30 Jumping Jacks
- 30 Squats
- 25 Jumping Jacks
- 25 Push Ups
- 20 Jumping Jacks
- 20 Crunches
- 15 Jumping Jacks
- 15 Squats
- 10 Jumping Jacks
- 10 Push Ups
- 5 Jumping Jacks
- 5 Crunches
- 5 Squats
- 5 Push Ups
I also decided that since I met my goal weight, I needed a new fitness goal. My husbands work retains 2 personal trainers in their on campus gym. They do physical fitness assessments for free! So I had the hubby ask if I could get one done. The concept of this physical assessment is different than just weighing. They track body composition (weight, % body fat, circumference of arms, thighs, waist and hips). I'm going to go in quarterly to get this checked out and see my progress! My goal is to tone up a little more, rather than weight loss. I'd like to see some of my circumferences go down. I was quite proud of my accomplishments since January. I apparently qualify in the "athletes" body fat range. Ha! Long are the days I considered myself an athlete. Oh well, I'll take it! This momma needs it.
Now for the diet! This part of my post stemmed from a work weight loss/biggest loser competition that just got started. All my co-worker gals have been talking about the diets they are going to do, etc etc. Something that gets me every time is how people talk about how they did "this" or "that" and lost a bunch of weight, only to gain it back when they stopped the program. I've been asked a lot about how I lost all the baby weight and then some. I wouldn't say that I have done anything excessive or drastic. I don't spend hours per day at the gym slaving on various machines. I don't do anything crazy with my diet such as eliminating sugars completely. I PERSONALLY think that the best means to weight loss is something that will be sustainable for the rest of your life.
Sure various no/low carb diets, calorie restricting on alternate days (i.e. 500kcal/day), etc., will help you lose weight fast. But they are diets that don't allow you to eat the food that you actually like and want. How realistic is it that you are going to spend the rest of your life never eating pasta again? Never having beer again? Most people end up off the bandwagon because they allow themselves to eat something like pizza while on the diet, realize how much they miss it, binge, and then fall off the bandwagon for months or years. They regain weight, and then realize they need to get back on their diet again.
What if it wasn't that complicated? What if all it entailed was eating moderately, incorporating foods you like, having a cheat meal every once in a while, and moderate exercise?
The way I utilize my diet to lose weight is by calorie counting. I have determined how many calories I need to eat per day to maintain my weight and also the amount I need to lose weight. During the week (Sunday through Saturday afternoon) I keep track of every calorie I consume, not including fresh fruits and veggies. I give myself Saturday night to have a cheat meal.
I hardly deny myself something that I want. If I want a McDonalds cheeseburger, I eat a cheeseburger. I just make sure to look up the nutritional information, calculate the calories and adjust what I eat the rest of the day. Some days just looking up the nutritional information averts me from actually eating said desired food. Ha! is a 800 kcal chocolate shake really worth it? Am I going to feel full after that?
I also cook dinner for my husband and I on the nights I don't work. I never force "diet" things on him. We have things such as cavatini, spaghetti, pork tenderloins, tacos, etc. Normal dinner foods basically. I allow myself to eat those things. I just make sure to keep track of everything I put into the entire meal and then separate everything into servings so I know how many calories are in each serving.
For example, the other night I made burgers. I separated the meat out into patties and calculated the calories per patty. I added how many calories the bun and slice of cheese were and that was all! Maybe a little time consuming when you first get started, but nothing more than a few minutes.
Some may think it's tedious, which, at first it can be. But it actually becomes second nature. As human beings, we tend to eat the same few things every day. For example, my breakfast consists of either oatmeal or eggs with an english muffin. I use an app on my phone to keep track of all my calories consumed vs burned. It just becomes a matter of logging into the app and clicking the oatmeal item I have saved.
I personally use the Fitbit app to log my foods and exercise. However, you can also use other apps such as My Fitness Pal.
Also, Calorieking.com has pretty much every food you could think of and the nutritional information. Most restaurants have information for nutrition also. The fitbit app also allows you to save your foods, which makes it super fast and convenient the next time that food needs to be logged.
 |
| Little Man helping me blog! Cheat meal is in the oven! |
Stay tuned for a future blog on figuring out the appropriate amount of calories you should be eating to lose weight or maintain it! There is such a thing as too little calories per day, which becomes unhealthy!
I'd love to hear your comments about what works for you in regards to dieting, exercise, and weight loss/maintenance! Lets hear it in the comment section!
