The Importance of Goal Setting

I weighed in today at 157.1. I know it seems like I gained weight over the past week. I assure you that isn't the case. My period actually comes on next week and I gain 2-3 pounds of water weight before my period. The reason I told you guys this is so that I can be accountable but also to show you that at times the scale won't reflect the work that you are putting in. The important thing to remember is that you can push through, you can reach your goals, and the scale will lie at times.

I will weigh in next week and it will probably say something in the neighborhood of 152-154. This will lead you guys to think I lost 5 pounds in a week. That is also not the case. But once the water weight is gone we can see my progress.

Anyhoo on to the importance of goal setting.It is important to have something to look at when you are pushing through. This is to will yourself to continue. To remind yourself why you take the long walks for exercise, why you deny yourself a donut or two, why you at times avoid going out to eat at a restaurant with friends. The count has to be right. Exercise - calories in = weight loss. The count is your friend. It is what will make sure you lose weight each week. The count is the reason you keep pushing on. For the sake of being funny I added a picture of my friend "The Count" By the way your motivation should be someone that is close to your height and a weight that can be attained (i.e. no supermodels unless you are 5'10).

What is your goal? What person (i.e. actress/singer etc) is your motivation?

From 201 to 155- Pics Uploaded

Here are some shots to show you guys how far I've come.

The first one is when I was nine months(about to pop) pregnant with my 2nd daughter Zuri. I was near 201 at this point.

The 2nd one is in my office taken about two weeks ago (around 158).

What to do while you are losing

Okay so you've been losing weight for the past couple of weeks and the clothes that are starting to get loose and feel comfortable are starting to get too loose. What do you do. You don't want to go and buy new clothes because you don't want to spend money on clothes that you won't be able to wear in a month. But you can't wear the same clothes to work because now they are falling off of you:) What a great problem to have right.

There are several options for you:

1) Go to the thrift store. This is really fun. My daughter and I googled thrift store in our home town and found several stores. They are fun. You can try on various clothes and for a low amount buy clothes that you can wear as you continue to lose.

2) Go shopping in your own closet. If you are like me you have several sizes in your closet. Go looking in those boxes and find the clothes that you promised yourself you would wear when you lose weight. By now they will fit.

3) Go shopping in someone else's closet. This step is really fun. Go shopping in a girlfriends closet, relatives closets (if they allow you), your husbands closet (if he was smaller than you some of his shirts may fit you, and lastly your children. Seriously now that I've lost weight my daughters shirts now fit me.

4) Time yourself and go shopping for expensive clothes at sizes you think you may be for a while. For me when I started (over a year ago) I was a size 14/16. I could wear 14's for about two months. Same thing for the size 12's. Had I not had any clothes in size 12 I would have bought 2-3 pairs of pants with the mindset that I could wear them for about two months.

5) Have your oversized clothes taken in. This can be pricey but if you have a favorite item that you can't do without have them taken in once or twice as you lose.

Happy losing,

Mandy

Pushing through adversity

OK So last week I was sick, my two daughters were sick, and one of them went into the hospital because of dehydration. But I didn't go off my plan. Don't get me wrong I am no saint but the reason that this diet works is because you can literally eat anything you want as long as you log the calories. If you log the calories it keeps you from overeating because you are aware.

Long story short I am down to 156.8 (1 1b loss from last week) even though my week was really hard. Let's keep going!

Where weight comes from question

Weight comes from

a) genetics
b) choices you make (i.e. food choices)
c) luck

What do you think?

Weight In Day

- Weight: 157.8
Right where my calcs said I should be! Onward and downward:)

Creative Workout!

OK so I really did not want to go to the gym after a long day at work. But I had promised myself 4 workouts this week and as of yesterday I had only done 1. So I got creative, REALLY CREATIVE!

I walked from the office home - about 1 mile. But I walked really, really fast and jogged as I crossed the streets.

Then once I got to the hotel I walked up the stairs to my apartment. I actually walked a little past my apartment floor. A total of 18 floors.

When I got back to the apartment I was drenched in sweat. Total time for workout- 40 minutes. Only 5 minutes shy of my 45 minute goal. My legs are still sore from all those stairs.

Sometimes you have to get a little creative in your weight loss journey.

Cheer's to creativity.

21 tips to set yourself up for success

Ok I thought of things that I have done and am doing in order to set myself up for success. This is what I came up with. Feel free to add some in the comment section if you think I left some out.

1) I write down everything I eat and the caloric content. This keeps me honest.

2) I make exercise a daily part of my life. (I actually put a pair of sneakers near my bedroom door. When I wake up in the morning I have to step over them if I decide that I am not going to the gym)

3) I remove all tempting foods out of my house.

4) I have one cheat meal per week (normally on Friday night or lunch Saturday I order out. Whatever is left over is thrown out immediately) This takes off pressure and allows me to feel that I am not punishing myself.

5) I have my weekly weigh in on Monday. This means that if I gorge on Saturday and Sunday that the scale will show it on Monday. This keeps me from overeating on the weekends.

6) I set mini goals (70 pounds is a lot to lose. I break it up into 10 pound increments).

7) I celebrate when I reach my mini goals (but not with food). Example: when I get to 149 I am totally getting a mani-pedi:)

8) I tell others what I am doing. Therefore I have to keep going to "save face". Works especially good at work because I can't go to McDonalds and bring it back to the office. All my co workers would notice that I am falling off the wagon. This keeps me honest.

9) I keep motivational pictures around me. (Each month I buy the oxygen magazine and I look every week at the bodybuilding.com website to see the success of others. It reminds me that I am not the only one out there getting my body together. I even compete with by fellow weight loss friends on youtube. This way I have a motivation to go to the gym).

10) I refuse to buy any clothes my current size or bigger. In fact I buy size 6 clothes (that I can't even fit into yet). According to the law of attraction if I buy clothes in my current size I am telling the universe that I am content where I am. By buying smaller clothes for myself I am telling the universe that I am serious!

11) I keep some cheat foods around so that if I fall I don't fall too far. (Ex: At work I keep diet coke, raisins, apples, peanuts). These are foods that I probably would not eat everyday but I keep them so that I don't gorge on candy and cake.

12) I keep it simple. For the most part I eat the same kinds of food and exercise the same time each day. I don't have to think about it and therefore risk talking myself out of being healthy. It is just a part of life.

13) I drink water. This allows me to not confuse hunger with thirst.

14) When trying to hit a mini goal I won't eat out at all. Normally I allow myself to eat whatever I want as long as I write it down. But on the weeks that I have a mini-goal I try not to even drive past the McDonalds so that I am not even tempted.

15) I talk to myself as if I am a child. "Mandy no you cannot have a hamburger! You had one yesterday. If you want a hamburger today you first have to go to the gym and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. You choose!"

16) When that doesn't work I talk to myself with compassion. "Mandy you know what the goal is that you are trying to reach for this week. If you want this goal press forward today. If you still want the "insert bad food here" you can have it but wait until tomorrow. Normally by tomorrow you aren't even thinking about it anymore:)

17) Keep a picture of a skinny chick on your refrigerator at home. I keep a photo of a totally ripped skinny chick on my refrigerator. I tell myself that when I get to 130 I'll post a picture of myself. I absolutely hate the fact that my husband gets to look at another woman everday on my refrigerator but I tell myself that he sees that all day long. If I want to remove the picture I have to reach my goal weight. Believe it or not I sometimes work harder just to get that damn picture off my refrigerator.

18) I set mini-deadlines. For example: I have mini-deadlines set for March 1, April 1and so on. This keeps me on target so that I don't get "lost in the sauce".

19) I keep picture of my slimmer self around. Then I tell myself, "I weighed this before, I can weigh this again."

20) I don't take drugs. Most of these weigt-loss pills only have caffeine and an appetite suppressant. Relying on these really don't help you lose weight faster. They are only a crutch. You can get the same results with two cups of strong black coffee and a fiber pill. Not impressive.

21) I keep my head down and keep pushing.

Keep pushing guys. I'll see ya at the finish line.

What the skinny chicks won't tell you

Ok I like to people watch...

I find that normally a person is too shy to tell you at times how they are successful (they don't want to boast) so I people watch.

The skinny chicks have ways of keeping themselves slim.

Rather than ask I just watch a few of my skinny friends and their habits vs my thick friends. This is what I've found.

Eating Out

Skinny chicks like to eat out like the next person, but they don't allow it to ruin their bodies. Here are some things that I've noticed.

1) They will share appetizers and desserts. This allows them to split the calories between themselves.

2) They drink! Rather than focus on the foods served at parties, skinny chicks like to have a drink in their hands and focus on conversation with people. Although alcohol has calories they tend to have one or two drinks and very little to eat. Normally they will eat before they leave home so that they are not hungry at the party.

At work

1) They drink! Go by any skinny chicks desk and you will find beverages (water, tea, coffee, diet soda). The secret behind this is that they tend to snack less if they have liquids in their stomachs. According to wikipedia you actually will think you are hungry when you are really thirsty. To curb hunger pangs try having something to drink first. A majority of the time you weren't actually hungry but thirsty.

They do the same thing when people at work have a party. Rather than load up on chips, dip, and cake they will have a drink (soda) in their hand. This way they don't look anit-social and they don't have to worry about someone handing them a plate of food.

2)They bring their lunch. Look at a skinny girls lunch. Normally it is something they made at home or one of those Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, or Smart Ones. Another thing I have seen are cans of soup. It is really simple, cheap, and because of the water content very filling. Just watch the sodium content if you are prone to high blood pressure.

3) When they do go out for lunch they normally get a salad or they have half of their entree boxed up (which they eat for dinner that night or lunch the next day).

Exercise

1) They play sports. Skinny chicks actually make their exercise fun! They are a part of hiking groups, or on the neighborhood volleyball or tennis team. Calories burned but you didn't even realize it.

2) They exercise together. Rather than panting on the treadmill alone skinny chicks get together and go hiking or walking and chat about their day as a stress reliever. Thick chicks normally get together and go to the restaurant or they actually go hiking but stop by McDonalds on the way home:) (I can only say this because I've been a thick chick and I've done it.)

3) They play with their kids. Thick chicks and skinny chicks both take their kids to the park to play but I noticed something. A lot of skinny chicks play with their kids at the park. They actually get on the swing and run around a little. I take my kids to the park and while they play I either chase them or do my own park workout (I'll share that with you in another post).

Follow some or all of these and you might find your inner skinny chick.


Coming up...How to set yourself up for success!

Some important websites

Ok so the last time I did this I needed a lot of motivation. Here were some sites that I went to that were really helpful. If you know of others please let me know.

You tube-
A) Smile2DayTears2Morro
B) BeautifulBrwnBabyDol

Both women lost weight and talked about how they did it. Their process was very similar to mines.

Other websites

a) www.bodybuilding.com- Great website to learn about losing weight, lifting weights, diet, post baby weight loss, and they even have a few videos about these topics. Search for Absolute Ava, Body Tranformation Video Trainer, The Fit Show, and War for the Worlds for great motivation. Also see their transformation articles they are very motivational!

b) www.caloriecount.com and www.fitday.com- I used both of these to figure out how much I was eating and either website can help you figure out how many calories to eat if you want to reach a certain weight by a certain date. This is a cheat to doing the formula that I showed you earlier:)

c) Google HerMuscleFetish. It is a great blog about the day to day of losing weight and gaining muscle. This woman was a pear shape before and has totally transformed her shape into a figure competitor!

Magazines

Oxygen- the best mag for motivational pictures and other related data.

Happy info hunting!

How I did it!

Ok. This post will answer the following questions about my weight loss the first time and how I plan to lose it over the next few weeks/months.

1) How did you do it
2) What did you eat
3) How much did you exercise
4) Did you take anything

For me weight loss was more interesting when I used science to aid me in the process. I decided to use the Harris Benedict formula to lose weight. First you find out the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This formula is calcuated as follows:
BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

It looks really complicated but here is an example

me:

my weight in pounds: 158
my height in inches: 62 (I'm 5'2)
age: 29

Plug: 655+ (4.35*158)+(4.7*62)-(4.7*29) = 1497

Then you take this number and multiply that times your activity

stationary (you sat on your ass all week)= 1.2
lightly active (you worked out 1-2 times)= 1.375
moderate (you worked out 3-5 times)= 1.55
very active (you worked out 6-7 times for 45-60 mins)=1.725
hard active (twice a day at least 5 times a week)=1.9

Ok so I really struggle with the working out. First because I am the mother of two rug rats. Two because It is just not my favorite thing to do. But this is a normal week.

BMR*activity (1497*1.55= 2320)

This is the number of calories that you burn per day.

Subtract the number that you eat per day (calories) and you have what I call a spread.

The spread needs to be 1000 per day to lose 2 pounds a week. TRUST ME. If you follow the calculation it really works. Each week as you lose weight you change up the formula accordingly and you NEVER hit a plateau.

Example

2320-1300 (calories eaten)= 1020 (spread or 2 pound weight loss)

Activity

Ok so my activity is usually an exercise tape or the treadmill or the elliptical. Not glamourous but it works. I try to do 30-45 minutes 4 times a week.

Did I take anything?- Nope. I couldn't take anything because I was breastfeeding. Anything and everything I ate would go right to the baby. I'll blog next week with my weight and we can talk about my calories eaten over the course of the week and my workouts and you'll see. See ya soon!