So there...I said it out loud. I feel better. I've said before, I'm not one of those goal driven people who is all about winning or losing and really I'm not sinking into a depression because of this. I see every pound lost as a win, and so far my score is 70. That is nothing to be ashamed of, cry over or shake a stick at, really. It's amazing and has literally changed my life!
When I reached 220 back in 2006 I was doing Weight Watchers and maintained between 220 and 220.6 for a staggering 6 weeks. The WW leader said to me "Man, you've definitely got maintenance down." HA! It was funny at the time, albeit frustrating...really, it should have been a wake up call. How did I know I would then top 285 just a few short years later? Wow for hindsight...
To continue to forge ahead, I need to literally move forward and not spend too much time looking back for the purpose of self-defeat. I believe it is important to reflect and understand where I am and how I got there. I instead need to look ahead at where I can be, what I can accomplish and what is a realistic and SMART goal for myself.
Here is where I've been going off track...and my solutions:
1) My eating plan hasn't been tight enough. I haven't tracked food in awhile, and while you all know I don't believe one can do that forever, when you have a specific goal in mind its a good idea. Solution: I plugged my new goal of being down to 198 by 12/31/10 into Sparkpeople and they adjusted my calories as such. I need to stay within 1200 - 1550 calories/day (um, I'll just say now that I plan on 1550 being my target). I will faithfully use the food tracker until I've reached my goal. Once I reach this goal, I will set a new one, probably another 33 pounds down by April 30. My ultimate goal is 165 - maybe a bit more, maybe less. It will all depend on my % of bodyfat, which I am aiming for under 24.9 or less (in the "normal" range). Shoot, to be under 30 (and no longer "obese") is a great goal too!
2) I'm not exercising enough. You may read that and say, "huh? but you run!" Yes, that I do. Three or four times a week. But I need more - I need to do something, anything on those off days from running in addition to that. Solution: Nothing huge, earth shattering or crazy, but something. I'm going to incorporate one or two biggest loser workouts a week (any more than that and I'm too sore to run!) and potentially another walk. Overall, SparkPeople says I need to burn 1900 calories a week combined with my calories above to lose 2 pounds a week, which would get me to 198 by the end of the year. I am averaging about a 400 calorie burn with each run and the BL workouts are about the same so if I run at least 3 times and then do the workouts on alternating days I should be at 2000 calories burnt/week. I've struggled with running lately as I need to change my work schedule in order to do my morning runs (its too dark now and only going to get darker!). I'm also going to start this neat Push Up Challenge http://hundredpushups.com/ with my husband. It looks like fun and it might take me 6 months to get to 100 but by gosh I'll get there! :)
3) I'm not blogging enough! I know that sounds really crazy, but this blog has been incredibly therapeutic for me and so helpful along this journey. Getting a chance to explore my journey and get inside my own head in the hopes of sharing it with others and helping someone else - its been so rewarding. Solution: I'll be blogging a little bit every day - with one or two longer posts a week, but at the end of each evening I'll report my intake and output (um calories in and burned, that sounded gross so I felt an explanation was in order).
Losing weight is all about math. Less input, more output. Why is it so hard? There are so many environmental factors...but the key is to make good choices most of the time, and hold yourself accountable for what you eat, drink and how you exercise. So, I will do just that, hold myself accountable once again and this time armed with a plan, and this blog for accountability.
Thanks for those of you who have stuck with me since I started documenting this in February. I'm so excited about what the next 8 weeks holds, and I have a fresh perspective on it all. Next huge goal - under 200! That will be SO great for me!
I'll finish with a post of a picture of my new haircut - was going to wait until 75 pounds, but I'm just as pleased with myself about 70, so decided to go ahead and do it (and I really needed it!).
See you back here tomorrow. :)
~Clara
INPUT (FOOD) STATS:
Calories: 1481
Carbs: 215
Fat: 45
Protein: 54
OUTPUT (EXERCISE) STATS:
Calories Burnt: 499
Mileage: 2.59 running @ 12:32/mile pace
warm up/cool down 10 mins @ 15/mile pace
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