Right Choices

Day 2 on my new workout regime and heathly eating kick.

Weight: 16 st 11.8 lbs (-1 lbs)

The hardest thing so far is dinner time for the simple reason my in laws (to be) lovely make me dinner. I am very grateful for them doing so however my only issue is that I am unsure of my calorie intake so I have taken to over estimating (I hope) the calories within the food. Plus I have completely cut down on how much I am eating during this time and not eating certain foods. While I have spoken to him about it my issue is I don't want to sound ungrateful. So I need to take control of the situation and continue to have an open dialog with them regarding what I am doing. Plus I hope what I am doing will encourage them too as they are also trying to lose weight. Sadly today I

Calories Consumed 
Food:1144
Drink:20
Total: 1164/1400 (-236)
A Day: 1
Water consumed: 2 liters

I'm not gonna lie. I am still stiff from yesterday's strength workout so decided to rest my muscles today with the aim being to complete a 40 minute strength workout tomorrow. Hence upping yesterday's by 20 minutes. I also finally got the treadmill fixed so I am looking forward to starting my 5k Podcast tomorrow. My goal is to do that right after my strenght workout as it will increase my afterburn plus doing it the other way can result in fatigue which means I could injure myself.
I got my bike set up today so ended up cycling for 26 mins burning 350 calories. While this is below my daily goal is have learned that I need to slowly up what I am doing as I am struggling since I am at the start of my journey. This isn't an excuse but I find myself tiring very quickly.

Activity
Exercise details: Bike (26 minutes)
Total: 26 minutes

Strength details:n/a
Total: 0 minutes

Day 6: 6th of January

Self Control

One of the things which I struggle with a lot is self control around food, whether it is each time I go into the fridge is just have to have another chuck of cheese or another slice of sandwich meat, ordering way to much takeaway as "it will do me tomorrow" (aye right) and do not get me started on opening a huge bag of crisp or a big chocolate bar and not finishing the packet in one go. This is one of the big things I need to work on if I want to lose weight and keep it off. In other words I am not on a diet I am currently trying in change my eating habits for the better. Which means I shouldnt completely cut out all the food that love but I need to understand the negative impact is off eating too much of that it as well as why it isnt. Using a technique from Bob and Jillian is finding the number of calories in the big bag of crisp and the dip that I love or the calories in the pizza from domino's that I always get and then hop on the treadmill or crosstrainer and don't come off until I have burnt those calories. This is extra exercise which I would have to do on top of my usual routine to negate it. By doing so I hope this will open my eyes to it and demonstrate that if I want to eat it I'm going to have to burn it off. Hence, when I fall off the bandwagon (it happens to all of us) I have a way to combat it without any negative feelings about myself or with the weight loss programme.

Food Intake (1400 max)
Breakfast (max. 280)
Protein bar (90 calories)
Green Tea with Mint (20 calories)
Total = 110 calories (-170 calories)

Lunch (max. 420)
Salad (54)
Total = 54 (-366)

Dinner (max 420)
Stuffed Chicken with Bacon (800 calories)
Peas and carrets (100 calories)
Spaghetti (100 calories)
Total = 1000 (+580)

Snacks (max 280)
None
Total=0 (-280)

Even thought my dinner was very very very high in calories it is okay as I didn't snack today and my breakfast and lunch werecommend under my calorie allowance meaning I had enough banked for it to be ok, plus I still ended up with a calorie deficit of 236 calories.

Ready. Steady. Go.

Today was the first day on my new programme of eating less and moving more. My starting statics for this week are:

Weight: 16 st 12.8 lbs

Waist Measurements: 42 inchs

This weight reading is 3.2 lbs lighter than the reading I gave in my first blog entry. I think this is because I am now going to weight myself as soon as I get up. By weighting myself at the same time without anything on it should reduce the fluctuations. However if I do weight myself everyday I should not be disappointed or set back by this as due to natural fluctuation in the body's water content and is completely normal.

Calories Consumed

Food: 730

Drink: 2
Total: 732 /1400 (-668)
A Day: 5

Water consumed: 2 Litres

Today did not really go as planned. I woke up late meaning by the time I had breakfast it was 1415. I did Bob Harpers Beginners Strength workout, then was ready to hop on the treadmill to do the first day of my couch to 5k podcast however turns out the treadmill isn't working. Instead I went out on a 1.25 hour walk with the dogs. This means I did not do all the exercise I would of liked to do today but as I ended eating right under my calorie allowance I am not really to fused. Hopefully I will get the treadmill working tonight so I can do the podcast tomorrow.  

Activity 

Exercise Details: 1.25 hour trail walk

Total minutes: 75 

Strength Details: Bob Harper Daily Workout

Total minutes: 15

Day 5: 5th of Janaury

Benefits of Measuring Food

Today is the first day on my new weight loss programme and I decided to play a wee game when I was making meals today. I decided I wanted to see how distorted my understanding of portion control was. Below is my menu of what I had to eat today. At first I took out what I thought the correct portion size I needed, then weighted it to see how off I was. I found this as a complete eye opener as because my goal is to lose weight I thought that the portion size was a lot smaller than it should be for the vegetables. However when it came to the yoghurt, hummus and meat I complete over estimated what I should of been eating. This highlighted how much of an education I need to understand portion control. Today really drilled home the benefit of using scales, measuring cup and so on when preparing food to make sure I am getting the correct calorie intake as well as meeting the right portion size to make it 1 of my 5 a day.

Target Food Intake: 1400 Calores
Breakfast (max. 280)
2 Boil Egg White with grill Asparagus tip (50g) (61 calories)
Black Pepper (ground) (5 calories)
2 x Green Tea and Mint (4 Calories)
Total = 70 (-210 calories)

Lunch (max 420)
Greek Honey Yoghurt and Banana (252 calories)
Total = 252 (-168 Calories)

Dinner (max 420)
Gammon Slice with Salad (415 Calories)
Total = 415 (-5 Calories)

Snacks (max 280)
None
Total = 0 (-280)

I understand I am 663 calories under my daily allowance however I got up really late today meaning I had breakfast did my strength workout for the day then walked the dogs. By the time I got home from the dog walk dinner was ready so my 'lunch' was eaten as a snack a few hours before bed.

Prep Work

To give me the best chance for me to make the right choices for the coming week is to prepare myself. So what I mean is that I have my gym stuff sitting out so I get out of bed put it on and workout, hence I am not wasting time looking around for my shoes or my sports bra. Another thing which I have done is that I have my laptop with my youtube videos saved on a tab meaning that they are preloaded (no buffering or adverts to get in the way!) and ready to play, along with the charger so I do not get half way through a workout then have to go hunting for it or more likely use it as an excuse for a break.  

I went out today and brought myself a A5 notebook to use as a food/drink and exercise journal which means I can have a paper form of my daily numbers. This is to use along side the myfitnesspal app which will help me confirm how many calories are in what I am eating. This will help me not underestimate the calories which are in food meaning I will have a better understanding of my food. Again I find but getting this stuff all prepared it advance I am being proactive and ready to get going. The other benefit of using the myfitnesspal app is that it will give my weight loss on a line graph giving me a visual representation of what these changes are doing which numbers alone might not highlight as well.

Day 4: 4th of January

Changes

The following changes that I want to make are to help me meet my goals which I set myself on the 2nd of January. So these aims are to complement and increase my likelihood of meeting those goals.

Drinks

A major change that I am making as from tomorrow is cutting out all fizzy drinks, caffeine and greatly reducing the diluting juice and replacing it with water. Why, simply because I do not want to drink my calories away. Since I am reducing my calories why should I drink away empty calories. Plus, there are so many health benefits that comes from being hydrated from water that it is an all around better choice. Also I have an ice machine and ice cold water is so much more satisfying. I am replacing my morning cup of coffee with a green tea or a peppermint tea so they are caffeine free. Green Tea helps boost the metabolism while peppermint tea is known to reduce bloating especially after meals and they also have less calories per cup so it is a win win in my eyes!

Breakfast

One of the biggest changes that I want to make a habit is eating a healthy breakfast everyday. Since being young I never ate breakfast as I wasn't hungry in the morning, however from articles I have read and according to weight loss experts (Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper) is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it sets you up for the whole day. Also a healthy filling breakfast will also reduce the likelihood of me grazing and snacking on unhealthy food throughout the day. Plus, by including protein, fibre and one of my five a day in my first meal of the day will set me up for the full day.

Fruit and Vegetables 

After spending the first 4 days of 2015 thinking about what I am eating I have realised that some days I do not eat any fruit and vegetables. At 22 (almost 23) I really should know better and I know about getting my minimum of my 5 a day. So my daily goal is to consume at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day as not only do these contain vitamins and minerals they are also low in calories in comparison to snacking on crisps or chocolate. I am also hoping as the year goes on that I can see myself easily eating these 5 a day and later on being able to challenge myself and slowly start boosting my daily numbers to 6-10 a day.

Sauces
I LOVE sauce on all my food, whether it is crisps and dip, burger relish, salad cream, mayonnaise or tomato ketchup. I use these all the time in ridiculously amounts and quite often I have more than one at a time. However, I know this is one of my worst habitats for my waist line. So I have decided to completely cut out the use of sauces with meals and replace it with a measured amount of vinegar. Why? Because at the moment I do not have any self control when it comes to uses sauces and also because of there high salt and sugar content wont be helping me at all, After a few weeks/months of not using sauces I think I could start reintroducing it and seeing how I go however I fulling believe at the moment that it will be better for me to cut out sauces. 

Moving More

Yes, I have a daily exercise and calorie burn goal however I think by moving more in general will also help me. In other words, if I am sitting down doing university work each hour I stop for 15-20 minutes and go outside with the dogs and walk about. Not only will it get the blood flowing and help me with the work I am doing but it will also help me walk off some calories. Yes I know not a lot but a handful is better than spending hour after hour just sitting in front of the laptop as I am more likely to graze then. Also at night, instead of sitting watching the TV or playing video games every 15 minutes get up and do something, weather it is a quick tidy up during the add break or playing with the dogs. Again it is just getting me to move that wee bit more an burn those few extra calories which will help me lose the weight that tiny bit quicker and by keeping myself busy will stop my 'need' to constantly graze. 

Stocking the Fridge

With Monday only being two days away I am off to fill the fridge and cupboards with healthy food choices. By having 5 healthy breakfast and 5 healthy lunches worked out in advance I know exactly how many calories are within each meal. It also takes the effort out of during the week trying to calculated the calorie content, meaning I am more likely to stick within my daily allowance. I have also listed 5 healthy snack choices so if I am hungry prior/post workout I again can select a healthy choice and when recording it in my food journal I know exactly the calorie content.

Breakfast Choices

Boil Egg and rocket (78+ 40 Calories)

Porridge with fruit (214 + 52 Calories)

Scramble Egg and Spinach (287 Calories)

Mashed Banana on 1 slice of Wholemeal Toast (90+95 Calories) 

Low-Fat Greek Yoghurt with fruit (130+90 Calories)

Lunch Choices

Omelette with Mushrooms and cherry tomatoes (160 + 22 + 27 Calories)

Tuna and cucumber wrap (105 + 30 + 15 +172 Calories)

Red Pepper and hummus wrap (30+ 80 + 15 + 172 Calories)

Boil Egg Salad (78+ 40 + 12 +80 + 40 +18 Calories)

Tuna Salad (105 + 40 + 12 + 80 +40 + 18 Calories)

Snack Choices

2 Large Carrots plus 1 small pot of Hummus (82 + 80 Calories)

Apple and Satsuma  (52 + 21 Calories)

Low-Fat Greek Yoghurt (130)

2 Celery Sticks with 1 small pot of Hummus (40 + 80 Calories)

Protein Shake (212 Calories)

Day 3: 3rd of January

Week 1 Exercise Plan

This is my plan for my first week! I am giving myself a daily choice so I can choose what to do depending on the mood I am in. However I can do everything I list if I so wish however I would like to do at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and 20 minute strength exercise daily. Ideally I would like to do that in the morning a dog walk in the afternoon then a DVD workout in the evening. 

Monday:

Bob Harper Strength Beginning Daily Workout
Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 1
1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Pump
Yogalates Upper Body
30 Minutes on the Crosstrainer
Biggest Loser Workout 1 3 Strengthen and Sculpt

Tuesday:
Bob Harper Strength Beginning Daily Workout
30 minutes on the Crosstrainer

1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Abs
Yogalates Lower Body
Pump it up the Ultimate Dance Workout 2004
Biggest Loser Workout 1 3 Strengthen and Sculpt

Wednesday:
Bob Harper Strength Beginning Daily Workout
Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 2
1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Legs
Yogalates Upper Body
30 Minutes on the Crosstrainer
Biggest Loser Workout 1 3 Strengthen and Sculpt

Thursday:
Bob Harper Strength Beginning Daily Workout
30 minutes on the Crosstrainer
1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Six Pack
Yogalates Lower Body
Pump it up the Ultimate Dance Workout 2004
Biggest Loser Workout 1 3 Strengthen and Sculpt

Friday:
Bob Harper Strength Beginning Daily Workout
Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 3
1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Fit
Pump it up the Ultimate Dance Workout 2004
Yogalates Lower Body and Upper Body
Biggest Loser Workout 1 3 Strengthen and Sculpt

Saturday:
Super Fit
Super Sculpt
1 Hour Dog Walk
The Biggest Loser USA Workout Weight Loss Yoga
The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Power Sculpt

Sunday:
1 Hour Dog Walk
Super Sculpt
The Biggest Loser USA Workout Weight Loss Yoga
The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Power Sculpt
Cardio Training: Workout to Fast Fat Loss

Right I understand that this is a lot to ask for especially as it is my first week however by giving myself all the options I like to believe that I will find something on the list that I am in the mood for and will do. 

NHS Choice

I am lucky enough to live in the United Kingdom so have access to the National Health Service (NHS) which has developed a 12 week programme to help people lose weight. So I have decided I am going to take there week advice as well and follow that in the hope that it will educate me and have a positive affect on my weight loss journey. 

The link for week one is: NHS Week 1 Getting Started 

The theme for the first week is getting started so the the actions for week one are:

• Record your weight and waist size in the food and activity chart

• Stick this week’s chart on your fridge and update it at the end of each day

• Plan your meals 

• Learn about calorie-counting 

• Sign up to the weight loss forum for support and information

The weeks chart is a fantastic tool which will help me stay accountable as everyday I have to fill out my total calorie intake, whether I have eaten below or above it. If I eat above my allowance it gives me the option to write down what I ate which I shouldn't of. Again this can act as a learning tool meaning I can look back at the end of the week and see where my short falls are. By doing so allows me to develop and reassess my eating habits. It also gives me a tick box for my 5 a day which again acts as a visual tool throughout the day (and week) about how I am doing on that front.

The second part of the sheet is the activity monitor where I fill out how how many minutes of aerobic exercise and strength exercise I have done. Both of the subsections have a tick and cross box so again it keeps me accountable daily. 

The third section is the Weekly Summary again will keep me motivated as it is again a visual tool of what I have achieved that week even if my waist measurement has not changed. 

The other benefit of printing out the sheet and having a physical copy which means if you look back at the week 1 sheet is that it will allow me to reflect about where I was at the beginning of the process

NHS Food and Activity Chart (http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Documents/WEIGHT-LOSS-PACK/week-1.pdf, 2015)

The other section of week one is all about the benefits of filling up on healthy fibre and portion distortion. Portion distortion I think is something that effects countless people who are over weight as we just do not understand what a healthy portion of food is and the calories within the meal.

So overall, I am going to spend the week working on these week one goals set out by this programme as well as my own. So roll on Monday.

Day 2: 2nd of January

Goals 

I thought I would use today's post to set out my goals. I have chosen 4 types of goals which I am going to work towards, update and evolve these through out the coming year. The reason for the different types of goals are to keep me motivated and to keep me on track. 

Very Short Term Goals: Weekly Goals. The aim of these are what my weight loss goal for the week is, time spend doing aerobic exercise, time spend doing strength exercise, keeping food diary within my daily calorie allowance and recording my water intake.

Short term goals: Monthly Goals. The aim of these are to set myself monthly weight loss targets and also inch loss for the month.

Medium term goals: TriMonthly (12 weeks) Goal. The reason for this time frame is that on average it takes 12 weeks to develop a habit, hence these goals are healthy habits which I want to develop. For example exercising daily and recording food and drink intake.

Long term goals: Six Month Goal. This is my long term goals so it means that I set my targets which all the other goals aim to get me to aka losing 1 inch a month from around my waist would give me the 6 inch loss I need for my sisters wedding. Hence, I would start with these goals and then work backwards so each goal leads into one another 

Okay for my first set of goals are as followed.

Long Term Goal (January to June): Loss 6 inches from my chest and waist

Medium Term Goal (January to March): Get into the habitat of exercising daily and recording food/drink/exercise  

Short Term Goal (January):  Goal is to lose 8 - 12 pounds

Very Short Term Goal (5th to 11th of January): Goal to lose 2-4 pounds, spend 7 hours doing aerobic exercise and 2 hours doing strength exercises. 

I understand that these goals especially my medium and long term goals will probably evolve meaning that they will need to be updated however I believe that this is a good starting point and would result in me moving in the right direction.

Now I have my goals my next step I need to take is to create a workout plan for my first week and get myself a food diary so I am able to keep a daily track of what I am eating and drinking and of course exercising. 

Quick Note.

To help me with my weight loss I need to know how many calories I take in and how many I expend with my goal being a minus daily figure, hence I am losing weight (durh!).

An important basic weight loss calculation is the BMR Calculation. This calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is the number of calories you burn if you stay in bed all day. Which for me is 1901.1. Now I have a BMR figure I can calculate my Daily Calorie Needs based on my activity level. I lead a very sedentary  life style so to work out how many calories I need to eat to maintain my current weight you  multiply BMR by 1.2. In my case that give me 2281 calories.

Meaning I need to eat less than 2281 calories a day to lose weight (this does not take into consideration exercise routines). 

**Important Note**

0.5 pounds of weight loss a week = -1750 calories = -250 calories a day

1 pound of weight loss a week = -3500 calories = -500 calories a day

1.5 pounds of weight loss a week = -5250 calories = -750 calories a day

2 pounds of weight loss a week = -7000 calories = -1000 calories a day

2.5 pounds of weight loss a week = -8750 calories = -1250 calories a day

3 pounds of weight loss a week = -10500 calories = -1500 calories a day

So if I was to reduce my food intake to 1500 calories a day would give me -781 calories everyday.

If I was to add an exercise regime to including aerobic and strength exercise which results in me burning an additional 500 calories. This means that I would have 1281 calories spare a day. Hence I would expect to see a minimum of 2.5 pounds weight loss. 

As of Monday the 5th of January I will start my food, drink and exercise diary to start to monitoring what I am consuming and  what is being burnt. By doing so will make me understand how much I am eating and also what I am eating. 

Day 1: 1st of January 2015

Happy 2015 and welcome to my first blog!!

In accordance with the New Year New Me malarkey I have decided it is time to lose weight (along with probably thousand of other people in the UK).   However I have decided to keep myself accountable via this blog. I am not naive and I know that weight loss is a struggle after losing loads of weight for a few years but due to a breakdown in relationships I ended gaining in all back (and more!!) over the course of a year and a half. I am very lucky to now be in the right place and mind set to get back on the weight-loss horse.

To start off I need to know my measurements so I know how much I have to lose which is my first step in my journey. This I found very difficult as I found this completely shocking that I let myself get into this shape which I am not happy. However with being completely honest with myself will not only help me see how far I have come but it will make me accountable and hopefully will drive me to change this statics forever!

Okay so:

Height: 5.5 (165cm)

Weight: 17 stone 1 pound (YIKES)

Chest:48 in. (was braless)

Waist: 42 in.

Hip:51 in.

Neck:15 in.

Thigh:29 in.

Forearm:16 in.

So as I guessed according to the NHS BMI calculator (uses sex, age, height and weight) my BMI sits at 29.8 which makes me obese as I pretty much expected however I am pretty much top range of that. So to bring my BMI down I will need to get down to between 7st 13lbs to 10st 11lbs to bring that down to a healthy weight. I know loads of people do not agree with using the BMI calculator, but I am using it as another wake up call and once I start losing more weight I will switch to different measurement. 

The reason for the other measurements will help me record my change in inches which I found before as a motivation especially because I need to lose a minimum of 4-6 inches of my chest and waist  in time for my sisters wedding in June so I can fit into my bridesmaids dress. 

Right so now I know my current statistics I know where I sit. My next thing to do is to work out my goals for January.