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Day Four!

A Caloric Ratio Diagram: Read on to find out what it's about!

    It's Day 4 and as usual I'd like to talk to you about what I'm struggling with and trying to work on myslelf, and today that's keeping myself accountable. And I think the first key is to write it down! What you eat, and when you exercise. I knew this was important before. I mean, I'd heard it said by doctors and read it in articles. But, experiencing the difference yourself that this fairly simple change in behaviour can make is psychologically powerful, and anyone who's ever struggled with weight loss, establishing an exercise routine or played any kind of sport knows how big a role psychology can play. Speaking for myself, I think taking the extra step of becoming a Beach Body coach has made a HUGE difference in helping me to stay accountable to myself.

    So, writing everything down is key. I did it for awhile, at points in the past, and then let it slip only to find that I undid all my own efforts. But not this time! And one of the tools I depend on in keeping track of my diet, you'll have noticed it if you ever clicked on one of the links in my meal tracking section, is Nutrition Data.com. This is a fantastic web site, that I really can't say enough about. I've been using it for years but there are still tools and resources on here that I have yet to explore. But what I really rely upon are the 'My Foods' and 'My Recipes' sections, which allow me to see a complete nutritional breakdown of individual foods, or a recipe I made, and then combine all of what I ate throughout a given morning, or a day, or a week to see how it all stacks up.You don't need to get all your potassium every day, but if you go a week without getting much at all that might be cause to reassess your diet. And especially if you're starting with a whole new diet without the assistance of a professional, being very aware of nutrition and educating yourself will be all the more important.

    One example of the ways in which they present all this information on Nutrition Data, and it is a lot of information, is in the diagram I included at the top of this posting. You were probably wondering what it was and may have been able to figure it out largely on your own. It visually presents how the food or recipe you're analyzing fairs, as far as its carbs to fat to protein ratio. Pretty neat eh?! There's so SO much more, but another great example is that they also have a diagram precisely like the Nutrition Facts diagram we're all used to seeing on the back of foods we purchase.

    The diagram shown is the analysis for the Tomato Soup recipe I made for lunch today. You can check out the whole nutritional breakdown by clicking on the link in the Meal Tracking section, and see a picture of it just below that.

    cont'd ...Which reminds me, in their exhaustive database of foods and the nutritional properties of those foods, there are also included lots of common packaged products and meals-- everything from Kellogg's cereals to McDonald's. The information they use for their food database comes from the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference as well as individual food manufacturers, and restaurants. So, as online resources go, pretty credible.

    Other highlights include being able to search for foods by nutrients they are rich in. So, when I combine all the food I've eaten today into one recipe and I find that maybe I didn't get enough iron (which long term can lead to anemia), I can then search for foods or even more specifically if I like, say vegetables, that are chock full of iron. Some may not be suitable sources, like parsley-- the shear volume you'd have to eat to get a reasonable amount of iron from parsley would be.... not very palatable, or digestible, but you will find foods that are great sources. For instance, I just learned by doing exactly that search that in a 100 gram serving of baked potato (skin on), you'll get 7mg, about 39% of your daily needs for iron. That was really surprising to me! Now you have to be careful in how you interpret this information and of course, consulting with a professional nutritionist is always best. But also and always, just use your common sense. A balanced diet is always best, so don't get carried away. This site can be a powerful tool if you take the time to educate yourself and learn to use it properly. I love it! In fact, I'm addicted to it, and I hope you'll be able to find it useful as well.

    Explore their resources, make use of them, and empower yourself with new knowledge about what you choose to put in your body. You may be very surprised at what you find.

Lunch: Tomato Soup

• 1/2 hour running/jogging sprints
• Slim in Six - Start it Up!
  

     I feel like I'm getting much more into the swing of things day by day. Especially with nutrition and eating habits. I was already kind of in a good routine with exercise before starting this more comprehensive program because I'd been doing the Power Lifting 3 days a week for about a month. BUT I hadn't lost a pound... :-(P  And I was seeing some results but not the kind I really wanted to--namely in pants size! Having a varied routine of physical activity is so important but just as much, and there are many doctors who say that even more important is diet and proper nutrition. And that's always been my problem. I used to be in much better shape, I was very active, hiking and rock climbing every chance I could get, but I don't think the nutrition was really there, and it held me back. Not only do I want to get back into great physical shape, better than before, I want to learn about eating more healthfully and make these changes last a lifetime. And I'll be learning for a lifetime to, because the science of exercise and nutrition are still both relatively young ones.

    So, I am happy to say that today I am feeling pretty excited, pretty pumped, and ready to take on the rest of this challenge!! I hope you are too!

Progress: Just what it sounds like. And I'm only going to be doing this for your sadistic pleasure once a week or so. ...Oye veh.

Still about 200 pounds.

Day Three:

    Third Day! Here we go. Most of my post today is after the meal planner where I explain the recipe I made for lunch. Well not a recipe so much as just what I found in the kitchen and threw together. But the point is that this is one of the major obstacles I find to sticking with a healthy diet. The best thing you can do is eat several small meals spread throughout the day. But let's be real, sometimes it's hard enough to make time for a good square meal at all. Planning your meals and forming good habits is key. And to do this it takes a little effort and planning at the beginning for it to eventually become routine. Like it might be routine to throw together a grilled cheese sandwich, or a casserole for the family.This initial effort will pay off in being able to just walk into the kitchen and throw something together because you've put the thought into it in the past. And like most of what I write about this is something I'm still struggling with.

    So, from the beginning of undertaking this kind of lifestyle change, in a way that won't cause your taste buds to revolt, we have to think about healthy options to keep around the house. But even before that is step one: throw out everything that isn't healthy (or better yet give it away). That means soda, chips, candy bars... you know the culprits. You need to have an environment in which you can actually have a chance to make good decisions. Having these old habits lying around the house to haunt you would be like trying to quite smoking while living in a place with cigarettes lying all over the place. And if everyone in your household isn't on board, get them on board. Be strong. This is about your health and they should be willing to help you get off to a good start. If it's really not possible though then either create a specific place where all the off-limits foods can go, preferably one that's not open and visible to you all the time, or create a similar place of your own in the kitchen where you keep only the foods you're allowed to eat, and that's your personal pantry. all you have to do is never eat anything that doesn't come from there. You'd be surprised how important preparing your environment for success is.

    Now- what can you put in there? Well my problem is that I'm hypoglycemic, so if my blood sugar gets low I make poor decisions, and that includes what foods to eat. So while it's better to avoid processed foods, it's necessary for me to have some easy quick options around the house that are better than some other choices which I've been known to make in the past when I come home hungry--usually the kind that arrives at your door 30-45 min later. And there are plenty of relatively healthy choices in this category. Canned healthy soups. Just look at the number of calories on the back, consider whether you'll have to add milk, and always look at the calories from fat. You want them to be no more than 1/3 of the total calories. You can also keep lunch meats in the fridge, which you can then put in some whole grain bread or stick in a whole wheat tortilla, like I did for lunch today (see below), add to that some cold or stir-fried veggies and you've got a great, satisfying, nutritious lunch! For dinner, while it may not seem very appealing, healthy frozen meals are a good option in a pinch, and there are lots to pick from. But right now I'm hoping to be able to just make meals ahead of time and freeze them. I just don't like most frozen foods. I think it's the preservatives. Besides the point is to have quick healthy options on hand, and to form new habits!

Lunch: Eggs and Smoked Mesquite Turkey Fajita

Mis En Place - 1.5 C chopped baby spinach, 1/2 a tomato, 4 extra thin slices smoked mesquite turkey, 1/4 C shredded mozzarella, 2 eggs and 2 eggs whites with chopped fresh cilantro, dried oregano, and pepper, with 1 8" whole wheat tortilla.

    Set aside half the tomatoes with the baby spinach. Lay remaining tomatoes over the smoked turkey and place the shredded mozzarella over that. It's amazing how far a 1/4 C of cheese will go! Arrange the baby spinach and remaining tomatoes on the whole wheat tortillas.

    Pop the plate of smoked turkey, tomato and mozzarella in the toaster oven (or regular oven) on broil. This will get them nice and hot so that they will go well with the eggs you're about to throw in a nice non-stick pan. No oil needed! Just make sure that the non-stick coating on the pan is perfectly intact with no scratches or discoloration. Teflon is not something you want to be eating.

    When that's all done.. that's it! Put the baked turkey, tomato and mozzarella on the bed of spinach and tomato you laid on to the tortilla, and then put the eggs on top of that. Voila! It takes 10-15 minutes to prepare -start to finish- it's healthy, balanced, filling and delicious.

Enjoy!

Dinner: Home Made Chicken Soup... with a glass of Riesling.

Exercise: Staying accountable. If I slack off, I'll know you're going to see it. And in that case- feel free to leave me berating messages.

• Slim in 6 - Start it Up!

     Taking it a bit easy today. It's important to give your body time to recuperate.

How'd it feel: i.e. Introspection: I think this is key. If you stumble, and I will, it's important to understand why if you're going to avoid its happening again.

    Today felt pretty good! No complaints really. When I got hungry for lunch I could have gone for some delivery pizza, but finding something good and healthy to eat will put that right out of your mind.

Progress: Just what it sounds like. And I'm only going to be doing this for your sadistic pleasure once a week or so. ...Oye veh.

     Still 200 pounds. But now feel like I'm on my way!

Day Two:

    Already, just making it to day two (game plan intact) feels like an accomplishment! So what is my game plan...

Simply put:

1. Power Lifting for 1 hour M/W/Fr.
2. Shakeology and multivitamin daily, and Protein supplements on power lifting days (during and after workout for best effect).
3. Trying to keep within about 1200 calories /day with lots of vegetables and minimal fat (within reason).
4. I'm also beginning with working through Slim in Six.

    I've got to admit, I'm just too tired to think about what to type in here and talk to all you good people about today. But then it was one of those gray days when it threatens rain but never actually does. Always makes me feel tired, especially when I also only got 5 hours sleep. I'm an 8 hour girl.

   So- instead! I'll give a little teaser about topics I plant to cover in future. I'd love to talk about the amaaazing importance of protein supplementing if you want to gain muscle, and I have no idea why you wouldn't. Muscle helps up your metabolism and burns calories even when you're at rest!

    More topics will include.... meal planning on a budget, followed up by meal planning when pressed for time!, water: the deal with 8 glasses a day, Shakeology: what's in it and what does it do for you, the surprising benefits of exercise, how to determine how many calories you need, keeping track of what you eat, eating on Tier 1! and many many more.....

    And now, for my daily report to you.

Thai Beef Salad, again made by my brother, who is becoming quite the chef. Any reasons for going back to my house are becoming very difficult to remember....

Exercise: Staying accountable. If I slack off, I'll know you're going to see it. And in that case- feel free to leave me berating messages.

• 1 hour power lifting.
  
• Slim in 6 - Start it Up!

How'd it feel: i.e. Introspection: I think this is key. If you stumble, and I will, it's important to understand why if you're going to avoid its happening again.

    Tiiiiiired! For one thing i didn't get enough sleep last night, at least for me. I probably fell asleep around 2 and woke up at 7. So, as a result I fell asleep when I got home in the evening, but I'll try to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. Sleeping is very important for good health and especially when you are working out and trying to build muscle!

    Challenges: when I got home from my power lifting I was hungry. Usually this isn't the case but usually I get home sooner too. So, I wanted nothing more than to make a BIG bowl of pasta, cooked in lots of salt and just doused with oil and butter-- pure unadulterated carbs of the worst kind. But I was STRONG! I had put the water on, but then I turned it off and walked out of the kitchen, and I didn't go back in until I had resolved to eat a piece of fruite. So when I came back I ate a peach and a smallish zucchini, raw and with skin, then when I found I was still hungry I had a whole wheat tortilla and a bit later a glass of 1% milk. I still would have loved to have that pasta, but I didn't crave it as much. I didn't tell myself that I wasn't going to eat the pasta, I just convinced myself to eat something else first. At least this works for me. But it may depend on the type of craving you're having. In my case I was craving fuel after my workout.

    So- a challenging day. But all in all fairly successful :-)

Progress: Just what it sounds like. And I'm only going to be doing this for your sadistic pleasure once a week or so. ...Oye veh.

Still about 200 pounds.

Day One:

Woke up- Chocolate Shakeology and a cup of coffee.

This is it! ....My journey towards greater health and fitness starts here!!

I've also started my journey towards better financial fitness as an Independent Beach Body Coach. But really more importantly, at least to me, is the idea that I can be helping other people, and that this very act also helps to keep me accountable to myself. I love this idea, and from everything I've seen in my research about this company, I can really get behind the way they do things. What can be better than creating amazing products that actually help people, ads value to their lives, and then empowering those who have used these products and believe in them to help others, PLUS rewarding them financially for their efforts. It just makes good business sense but it also rings true morally. If you're like me sometimes it feels as though our society can move so quickly and keep people so separate from their fellow human beings that there just isn't any incentive to be a good neighbor anymore, a good citizen or a good Samaritan. Especially these days when it comes to our companies. I'm excited and proud to be working with a company like Beach Body. And just judging from the success they've seen since they started this grass-roots, people-driven marketing strategy (called network marketing by the professionals), I think there's a hunger and a huge market for just this type of organization.

But, back to me ;-) ...kidding. 

I met with my coach Heather for the first time two days ago in a local coffee shop, and we were there until they started putting the chairs up on the tables and turning off the lights. She got me started with then Getting Started Right Guide interview, and there was just so much to talk about besides. And, when I came in it also happened to be that she was already talking about Beach Body with the girl sitting next to her Talia (Heather had thought she might be me since I was running a bit late). All three of us chatted and chatted, and seeing my coach introduce the concepts of Beach Body to Talia, hand her a third party tool, get her excited about it, was a fantastic example to see right off the bat.

So Heather asked me if I've taken my before picture, ...which I hadn't, and she said how much she wished that she had done so back at day 1 and I realized, I may be terribly embarrassed now, but I've actually already just briefly started working with Beach Body and I'm already seeing results. So- I'm going to go for it! *she says with a level of enthusiasm that sounds like she's trying to convince herself as much as anyone....*

And, as part of trying to keep myself accountable I am going to do my best to keep a detailed log of my progress in this blog. And I mean detailed! Talia, the other girl that Heather and I met at the coffee shop, very sweetly pointed out to me by means of encouragement, that because I hadn't attained my goals yet I came across as very real. That it made her feel like, if I could do it, so could she. Well that made me feel great, and it did give me a huge boost in confidence that I can pursue this course of helping myself by helping others, and that I'm not just a big hypocrite. So, if I'm still fat, gosh-darn it I'm going to use it to my advantage!!! And maybe it can help inspire someone. Because, after all, that's what this community is all about.

So here it is... my picture on Day 1.

Incidentally, that is my sweet 15 year old puppy, Chloe. She's a little tired after a long walk, poor thing. Her legs aren't what they used to be.

I won't post pictures everyday, or even every week, but just whenever I feel like it, or when I have a good one to post.

Food: Here I keep track of everything that I ate/drank so you and I can both see, in-action, the relationship between fuel, exercise, and results.

Dinner..... mmmmmmmmm. Was good.

I shall try and get the recipe for that marinade and put it in the link for Pork Chops, which will take you to the recipe, and analysis of it, in Nutrition Data.com. Right now it will only show you the raw ingredients and nutritional analysis.

Exercise: Staying accountable. If I slack off, I'll know you're going to see it. And in that case- feel free to leave me berating messages.

• 1 hour Swimming Laps.
• Slim in 6 - Start it Up!

How'd it feel: i.e. Introspection: I think this is key. If you stumble, and I will, it's important to understand why if you're going to avoid its happening again.

    I was pretty tired after the swimming. But dinner was just the thing to have right afterwards--within 30 minuted of getting out of the pool. I like to get my protein within an hour of working out. All in all, pretty good. I think I maybe should have eaten more calories... we'll see how my workout goes tomorrow because I will be doing wight training. I also think I could have drunk more water. I usually feel better when I do.

Progress: Just what it sounds like. And I'm only going to be doing this for your sadistic pleasure once a week or so. ...Oye veh.