mom2-4monkeys
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Post by mom2-4monkeys on Apr 13, 2011 10:12:53 GMT -5
Thanks Beth!! I thought we'd be safe because DH got "fixed" after the first set... yeah that didn't work so good!!! But we have 2 beautiful girls that will be 4 on the 24th and 2 crazy boys that are 1.5 y/o.
IT's very hard for me to find time to exercise, but, I made it off the couch!! I went for a walk with all 4 kids after work on Monday & tuesday. we did just about 1 mile. I have to start working on my eating. Question for those counting calories... How many should you have per day? How can i figure out what I "should' have?
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 13, 2011 10:53:36 GMT -5
Mom2-4 How many calories you should have per day depends on a lot of things. There are a lot of calculators online where you can enter your height, weight, age, and activity level and it will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your weight - your maintenance level. You would then pick a number below that to aim for. You're little, so I want to make sure to add that I have heard it is vital to make sure to eat more than 1100 calories per day to keep your body from going into "starvation mode." Also, (again, I have heard) is that it is safest to lose no more than 2 lbs per week (no matter what the biggest loser says). Since a single lb is ~3500 calories, you want to restrict no more than 7000 calories per week. Restriction is a combination of the additional calories you burn through added exercise plus the number of calories below your maintenance level. So, for instance, I try to eat approximately 600 fewer calories per day than my maintenance level (2000 calories). I also try to burn an extra 350. So my restriction is 950. 950x7=6650. 6650/3500=1.9lbs per week. That's if I stick to the plan, which is the hard part.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Apr 13, 2011 11:05:13 GMT -5
I weigh myself everyday- but only count one day a week's weigh in (I used to count Monday, but have switched to Wednesday since I often EO on weekends at DGMs house). I use the daily weigh ins as a reminder that I blow up like a balloon if I EO too much at fast food joints- plus I can use it as leverage with DM and DGM when they say "but we don't feel like cooking" - well, sorry, I will have to go home and eat. 2 oz of whole wheat pasta with a bit of jarred alfredo or bottled salad dressing and frozen veggies are much better for me than any fast food.
I am working on organization stuff today. The rest of this week I should be in my DGMs garage and attic- lovely.
I pretty much gave up soda- sometimes I drink them with dinner out, or if I am at the bar. My big downfall is Starbucks hot cocoa. I need to switch to tea or coffee.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 13, 2011 11:06:28 GMT -5
Yeah, you want to avoid starvation mode. As I've mentioned, DH is on this very limited eating plan. In addition to only being able to eat certain foods, he cannot eat grains and meat at the same meal. We determined AFTER he dropped to skin and bones that he was getting a total of 1300 calories daily, COUNTING all the oils and supplements, with very few carbs. Needless to say, we pay ALOT more of attention to his calorie and carb intake now. He's stopped losing weight and is starting to gain it back. We were stupid not to realize sooner that he was in trouble. We both made assumptions that turned out to be wrong.
And he did check in with our primary care doctor a couple of times while this was going on... DH dropped to 155 lbs, for a 6 foot 1+ male. And the stupid BMI/weight charts in the doctors office think that 165-175 is the perfect weight for a man of his height.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 13, 2011 11:08:03 GMT -5
mizbear, I drink a lot of tea and water. I was going though a lot of soda and now if I want my Pepsi, I have to buy it and it goes on the spreadsheet at a treat.
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redwagon
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Post by redwagon on Apr 13, 2011 11:16:31 GMT -5
I'm trying to motivate myself to go to the gym tonight and tomorrow night. I have class Monday and Tuesday, and other than walking from work to class (half mile to two miles, depending on day), I haven't been working out. I had great success last year, even with indulgences, when I was working out several times a week. Plus I just felt better physically and emotionally. I just need to make it a habit again. Luckily, class is over in two more weeks and then I'll be going much more often (or should be going!)
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Apr 13, 2011 13:41:35 GMT -5
I can't help happycat, I stopped using all artificial sweeteners and light/lite foods when I got pregnant and was breastfeeding and I don't think I'm going back to them. DH is using stevia (got no clue on how to spell it) as it's permitted on his regime/diet plan. The kids (not quite 18 months and 3 years old) get whole milk plain Greek yogurt - and they love it. And they've had flavored and 'regular' yogurt. This is what they prefer. Go figure. We too eat plain yogurt all the time. I like the Trader Joes Organic Yogurt that comes in bigger containers. Yogurt by itself has sugar and so I don't think we need anymore added to it. I also like the Athenos greek yogurt - the portion sizes are great, but I have stopped eating all sugar and so don't buy anymore.
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 13, 2011 13:43:53 GMT -5
PS - Totally second chicg's recommendation of www.skinnytaste.com . Dh is picky and I am picky in totally different ways and we have found multiple recipes here we agree on, with serving sizes, calorie counts, etc. provided. A couple of these were good enought that DH has even requested go into the regular rotation!
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 13, 2011 13:45:25 GMT -5
I also like the Athenos greek yogurt - the portion sizes are great, but I have stopped eating all sugar and so don't buy anymore. Stopped eating all sugar? Goodness gracious, that is some willpower!!!
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ohmomto2boys
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Post by ohmomto2boys on Apr 13, 2011 13:46:25 GMT -5
I'm not doing too bad with eating....I'm trying hard to lower portions, and have better snacks available. However, the Bliss Dark Chocolate is a beeeotch!!! Why does it have to taste so good? 1 a day........they are small.
Hoping to get on the treadmill tonight.....I was hoping to get on it the last 2 nights, but took advantage of DH taking the boys to swim class last night and I got their Easter basket stuff in order - very little candy in them - lots of toys & money!
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chicg
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Post by chicg on Apr 13, 2011 13:47:29 GMT -5
bschool - glad you like that site. My friend that recently lost 60lbs recommended it to me. I love all the chicken recipes I've tried so far and yes, those will be going in my regular rotation as well. I made the chicken with spicy peanut noodles earlier this week, it's one of my favorites now, leftovers tonight!
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Apr 13, 2011 14:02:06 GMT -5
I also like the Athenos greek yogurt - the portion sizes are great, but I have stopped eating all sugar and so don't buy anymore. Stopped eating all sugar? Goodness gracious, that is some willpower!!! It's not too bad, since I love spicy food. I have a family history of early diabetes and don't want to start taking meds too soon. My last physical was a wakeup call and I have started slowly cutting out all white foods like sugar, white pasta, white rice and bread and instead switching to whole grains. I am already a vegetarian, so nothing much to do there, but the whole grains are really helping.
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 13, 2011 15:15:44 GMT -5
I made the chicken with spicy peanut noodles earlier this week, it's one of my favorites now, leftovers tonight! That's on the docket for tomorrow night for us - chicken for DH, tofu for me! I even bought the trader joe's fake peanut butter. I'm sorry, but despite what the label says, it is NOT better 'n peanut butter... (Peanut butter being a food of the gods as far as I am concerned) Hopefully it will taste good in the noodles though.
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rr234
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Post by rr234 on Apr 13, 2011 15:38:28 GMT -5
yogurt - I buy plain and throw frozen fruit in. No added sugar. Sometimes I use my immersion blender and make a smoothie out of it. so good! you have to be careful with flavored yogurt. Check out the grams of sugar. about 4 grams = a tsp. 1 tsp = 16 calories. I know the yoplait I used to eat had 90% of the calories from sugar, which turns into fat anyway. Not so good for you.
caloriecount.com is another good tracking site. I like the status bars they show you throughout the day. It also shows you what nutrients you're not eating enough of/too much of. And gives you advice on what foods you can eat to get enough potassium or iron for example.
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chicg
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Post by chicg on Apr 13, 2011 16:12:56 GMT -5
bschool - I hope you enjoy! I think it would be fine with tofu, or even just extra veggies. I threw the whole bag of broccoli slaw in and a boatload of bean sprouts since I love them. I also subbed a whole wheat/high fiber thin spaghetti for the noodles since I had them on hand, still good! I used regular PB which upped the cals but it still fit into my daily fine. I'm not a PB fanatic so I'm sure I'd be happy with the fake stuff in this dish, need to hit TJs. I think I'm one of the few people on the planet that don't love greek yogurt. I use it to replace sour cream in some recipes but on it's own with fruit or honey, I have to force myself to eat it. Just found out I'll be traveling soon for a funeral. I'm going to miss all my weekend workouts and probably Monday too. Sat-Tues is when I get in most my exercise, I do 6 classes between those 4 days. My main goal is just to remain in control over food and and sign up for 1-2 classes when I return that I don't normally take to make up a little of what I'll miss. I'm going to try to write down what I eat when I'm gone but not sure how I'll do with tracking online. I'll do my best!
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Post by bluecluessubtlety on Apr 13, 2011 16:25:35 GMT -5
OK, the exercising starts tonight. After reading here I checked out zumba online. LOVE IT. I am plugging my phone into TV tonight and starting with some youtube videos (you know, because I'm frugal and not buying any .
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Apr 13, 2011 16:47:32 GMT -5
I drink filtered water (brita pitcher) and tea when I am at home. I have dug my exercise DVDs back out. Because I can't afford a gym membership (wht I would give to be able to go back to the gym, especially since they have opened a location right near my apt), I have my own little home gym- an exercise ball, an adjustable aerobics STEP, 2, 5, 10 lb weights, 3 & 8 lb weighted balls, yoga mat, yoga strap, jump rope and DVDS. I add to the DVDS a few at a time, that way when it is too hot or cold for me to go out with my asthma, I can exercise indoors. My DB was supposed to sell me his workout bench- but he still wants $80 for a used bench that I can buy new for $100! Plus he ruined my resistance tubing! My calorie objective is to stay between 1000 and 1500 calories. I try to stay above 1100, but I am getting more "veggie centric" in my meal planning and the calories aren't there. I do like beans and whole wheat pasta though.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Apr 13, 2011 20:04:33 GMT -5
sarcasticgirl- I can totally ID with the SAD issues; I have bipolar and other mental health issues. Sunlight in the winter is an absolute MUST for me. Have you tried those lights they have for SAD sufferers? They help. I also run 5Ks. The running bug bit me in high school (actually in middle school, but I didn't learn much about it until high school).
I had a bad day eating wise. I know why, it gets better every year. Tomorrow will be a bad day. Must deal with not-so-dear-and-darling-father tomorrow. I wouldn't if I could avoid it, but DB gave him my number, dingbat that he is. Have already made an allowance for chocolate for tomorrow.
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 13, 2011 20:06:10 GMT -5
Missed my workout tonight due to being out late looking at houses to buy. No luck there either. Oh well, there is always tomorrow!
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cathysmom
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Post by cathysmom on Apr 13, 2011 20:26:31 GMT -5
mom2-4 calories per day: Are you home with the kids all day? I only have one almost two DD and one almost five DD and they keep me hopping. I can't image four under 4, I'd be running all day! I spend so little time sitting during the day that I've found that if I can stay under 2000 calories, I will lose weight slowly. Several people have mentioned daily targets that are under 1500 cals. How much you burn every day is different for everyone. Maybe if you can track your calorie intake for a few days and then set your target 500 cals or more below that, depending on how fast you want to lose weight and see how that works for you?
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HappyCat
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Post by HappyCat on Apr 13, 2011 22:11:46 GMT -5
30 minutes of spin class and NO coke or sweet tea today. Had mexican for lunch with DD2 so that wasn't great. I did drink alot of water today. Tomorrow is training/weigh in!
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Apr 14, 2011 6:30:17 GMT -5
Thanks Beth!! I thought we'd be safe because DH got "fixed" after the first set... yeah that didn't work so good!!! But we have 2 beautiful girls that will be 4 on the 24th and 2 crazy boys that are 1.5 y/o. IT's very hard for me to find time to exercise, but, I made it off the couch!! I went for a walk with all 4 kids after work on Monday & tuesday. we did just about 1 mile. I have to start working on my eating. Question for those counting calories... How many should you have per day? How can i figure out what I "should' have? A general rule, I was told by a nutritionist many years ago, is to take your goal weight and multiply by 10 to get the target calories you should be consuming to reach that weight. Of course, exercise, activity level, etc can affect that number, but, just as a general guide, it seems to be spot on. Example, goal of 150 pounds, should consume 1500 calories per day. ETA: It concerns me too when people talk about eating a very low amount of calories per day. This same nutritionist said you should never eat less than 1200 calories/day for any length of time. It's not healthy and unsafe.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 14, 2011 8:10:17 GMT -5
Caloriecount.com sounds interesting, esp. since for the advice of what's missing.
I used the treadmill this morning. And I weighed myself. I'm at 185, which is down 2 lbs from 3/22/11, the last time I was weighed. I guess I should have weighed myself on Monday morning before starting all of this. Oh well.
I completely understand the bad days. Wednesdays are not good days for me most weeks. I work 7:30-4pm, have handbell choir practice from 4:30-6ish, go and pick up the kids from my Mom's house and feel lucky to get home by 6:45, just in time to start bedtime routines. Last night I ate dinner at 8pm and had snacked quite a bit at bells and before leaving work. At least the kids went down fairly easily and slept all night.
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rr234
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Post by rr234 on Apr 14, 2011 8:24:53 GMT -5
Binged on chicken tenders last night. Tired and depressed a lot lately. My brain never shuts off. So even though I was technically asleep for 8 hours last night, it wasn't very good sleep. My mind races and tortures me. Been thinking a lot about ex BF lately. Getting angry again about the whole thing. Can't figure out what the deal is.
No time to workout today. Work, go home let dogs out, inhale dinner, go to pt job until 9. Work again tomorrow morning at 7. Not sure how this belly fat is ever going to disappear. *sigh*
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lulu0312
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Post by lulu0312 on Apr 14, 2011 9:01:02 GMT -5
I'd like to jump in and join this thread, too! I'm 51 yrs old, 5'10" tall and started at 208.6 lbs on March 1st. That was my highest ever, and I have been at 202-208 for about 6-7 years. I started a program at the hospital where I work that cuts out ALL carbs (sugars, starches, pasta, breads, rice, etc.) for a while, then slowly reintroduces them after you hit 90% of your targeted weight loss. I've lost 19.8 so far, and would like to lose a total of 30. I have started exercising again after years of a fairly sedentary life, and am feeling so much better already. I need to make this a life change, not just a temporary thing, so I want/need all the support I can get. I've loved being part of the WIRR so much, I knew this was the place to come for weight loss, too!
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mom2-4monkeys
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Post by mom2-4monkeys on Apr 14, 2011 9:15:10 GMT -5
mom2-4 calories per day: Are you home with the kids all day? I only have one almost two DD and one almost five DD and they keep me hopping. I can't image four under 4, I'd be running all day! I spend so little time sitting during the day that I've found that if I can stay under 2000 calories, I will lose weight slowly. Several people have mentioned daily targets that are under 1500 cals. How much you burn every day is different for everyone. Maybe if you can track your calorie intake for a few days and then set your target 500 cals or more below that, depending on how fast you want to lose weight and see how that works for you? No, I'm not home with the kids. I get to work 4-50 hours a week. I sit at a desk all day. I take my hour lunch in the morning so I can drop off the girls to school, so I can't do anything on my lunch break. Thanks for the info on counting calories. I am going to start working on that today. My friend asked me to join weight watcher with her... Has anyone else done WW's? Is it worth the money? I would get upto $150 back from my health insurance to pay for it (for a little while).
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eh230
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Post by eh230 on Apr 14, 2011 9:32:19 GMT -5
I actually weighed myself this morning, so I can finally join! My name is also Beth. Weight is 154. Height is 5'3. My DS is about to turn 1. Active weight loss will probably start in a couple of weeks when he is fully weaned. I have had a really hard time losing weight while nursing. The plus side is that I am only 2 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. The bad news is that I still have a lot of weight to lose.
Long term goal - lose 24 pounds to get to 130 (even lower would be great, but I am not counting on it). Short term goal - not really sure, any suggestions?
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 14, 2011 9:47:53 GMT -5
"A general rule, I was told by a nutritionist many years ago, is to take your goal weight and multiply by 10 to get the target calories you should be consuming to reach that weight. Of course, exercise, activity level, etc can affect that number, but, just as a general guide, it seems to be spot on. Example, goal of 150 pounds, should consume 1500 calories per day."
That may work for the weight loss portion, but you need to be careful once you get to the goal weight that you don't keep eating at that level. All of the calorie calculators I've seen say that number would be way too low to maintain someone's weight. (I've experimented with me, an average-ish woman, my husband who is a huge man and a hypothetical tiny woman.) Everyone came out at a much higher number for maintenance of weight.
In case there was any confusion from my prior post, I also don't recommend eating less than 1200 calories per day. I certainly don't eat that little, barring stomach flu or similar catastrophe.
I think that shows like the biggest loser also do more average people a disservice by glorifying weight loss of 5, 10, 15 pounds per week. That is not healthy for the average person, and to be honest it's not healthy for the contestants either. If you read any of the gossip about the show, they talk about how there are doctors on staff telling contestants that it is not safe for them to keep going (e.g., dangerous heart rate levels during workouts) but they do because the trainers tell them to. They also use natural diuretics and starve themselves just prior to weigh-ins to post those numbers. Then when I lose like a pound a week, it's hard not to be disappointed, or fall into extreme habits to try and lose the weight faster.
A long-term approach is a much better way to go. If you eat 100 calories less per day than you are now, you will lose 10lbs over the course of the year. That is drinking 1 can of coca-cola classic less per day. If you eat 300 calories less per day than you are now, you can lose up to 30 lbs per year, and so on. But it's also hard to maintain this kind of discipline over the course of a year, and hard to stay motivated if you aren't seeing changes every week. Which is where this group comes in, yes?
As my final random point in this super-long post, I think we need to respect that weight loss is highly individualized. What works for me won't work for everyone else. My schedule is different, my goals are different, my eating habits are different, etc., etc. I've already seen some things posted that I think are ridiculous, but if it works for someone else, I don't really have any right to criticize. I'm sure other people have seen something in my posts they think is crazy. As long as we're all being safe I think it's all good.
Sorry for the ramble.
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Apr 14, 2011 10:44:59 GMT -5
Binged on chicken tenders last night. Tired and depressed a lot lately. My brain never shuts off. So even though I was technically asleep for 8 hours last night, it wasn't very good sleep. My mind races and tortures me. Been thinking a lot about ex BF lately. Getting angry again about the whole thing. Can't figure out what the deal is. No time to workout today. Work, go home let dogs out, inhale dinner, go to pt job until 9. Work again tomorrow morning at 7. Not sure how this belly fat is ever going to disappear. *sigh* rr - I'm sorry that you're not getting good rest due to ex BF. We've all been there after a break-up, and it totally sucks! Just do what you can do, if you can manage a workout or even a short walk that can help raise your spirits a little (I know the pups love it too!) In terms of binging, the only thing that helps me is to not have indulgent food in the house. I know they suck, but maybe lean cuisine or healthy choice might help bridge the gap during those days you have to inhale dinner? Hang in there, and remember that in dieting and life there's no point in beating yourself up for what is past. *Hugs*
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chicg
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Post by chicg on Apr 14, 2011 10:48:04 GMT -5
bschool - don't apologize for the ramble! Talking out thoughts and ideas are what makes boards like this work. One can usually always find some useful information in a ramble, even if they think the post might not apply or work for them. So here's my ramble about figuring out how many calories. The typical formulas and calculators don't work for me. They say my maintenance cals should be about 2900, meaning I could still eat 1900 to lose 2lbs a week (7000 deficit) plus I'm burning about 3000-3500 in exercise for another 1lb. My dr's have assured me that I need to decrease cals, the "you're not eating enough" isn't why I'm not losing. I try to stick between 1600-1800 (and ironically 160 is my goal weight, I'm 5'9) so even if I'm eating 2000, I should still be losing something. Shoot, even with just workouts for a 3500 weekly deficit, I should "technically" be able to eat 2900/day and still lose 1lb/week. what I really need to do is get my metabolism checked to see how much I'm really burning at rest but I'm having trouble finding a doctor who does that. Also, this is another point of controversy but I've always been told food is more critical to weight loss then exercise. There are tons of benefits to exercise though, but for weight numbers alone, food is probably what will get you there. I don't want to believe this, but I've increased my exercise SO MUCH over the past year and haven't lost 1lb to show for it, but all my bloodwork is great. My eating is always a work in progress but hasn't changed much since WW. Oddly, when I lost 30lbs in 3 months on WW, I wasn't exercising much WTF? Just more rambles to think about.
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