No more holiday debauchery! It's time to get focused again on healthy eating and regular exercise.
I used the Lose It app on my iphone in 2010, which I swear was the key to my weight loss success [I lost 30 lbs. from April-November 2010]. But then I got stuck on a weight loss plateau for a couple of months that I just couldn't overcome, so I took a break from tracking my daily calories for a while. The good news is that I managed to keep the weight off for all of 2011. Well, except for two pounds... pish! The bad news is that I never got to my target weight and I still really want it.
Soooo.... today I got on the scale and started a new program on the Lose It app. I went over my calorie budget today, but I'm okay with that for now. I'll ease back into the program this week as I get re-accustomed to proper portion sizes and better snack choices and so on. If everything goes according to plan, I should reach my goal weight between May and July--depending on whether I lose 1 or 1.5 lbs. a week.
Have you made a New Year's Resolution to lose weight this year?
Eat healthier? Exercise regularly?
I almost followed with, 'Let me know--misery loves company!' ... but truthfully, this is not going to be miserable. It's going to be fantastic! It's not going to be easy and I might get a little cranky... but it'll be worth it because I know it'll feel great!
Who's with me?
Learn more about the Lose It app in the app store in iTunes or at www.loseit.com. Lose It is also available for the Android.
For some great advice on achieving success with your resolutions, see this article on Four Keys to New Year's Resolution success written by Sean on The Adventures of a Bookonaut.
I gave up on making losing weight as my New Years resolution because when I do I never accomplish it. Last year when 2011 started I didn't and I've lost more weight than making it a goal.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd...but to each their own...
Last week I officially called quit to drinking pop and I've been feeling a tons better! I mean yeah I've slipped a couple times and I drank some on my birthday, but I've been generally non-pop. Try that cutting pop! It'll make a difference.
OMG!! I LOVE the image!
ReplyDeleteit so true.
I need to loose weight per the doctors order which means i'll probably be going to zumba class with my mom tomorrow- *sigh*
:) I'm going to try to check that app though! sounds cool
I do not have to lose weight, but I want to. I think 2 kg would put me on a perfect weight. And I should stay there too so that I am healthy and good. Oh and I should eat healthier, bleh! I need a big kick in the behind
ReplyDeleteI know you can do it, Christine! I mean, you lost 30 pounds and you did great keeping it off! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not making any resolution this year either. I'm going to try to cut down on soft drinks and eat more regularly... we'll see :)
Hi Carole Rae :)
ReplyDeleteYou know... the two times in my life that I had the most success with weight loss and a healthier me were both initiated at random "That's it! I'm doing it NOW" moments and not at New Years. I almost started back up with the Lose It app before Thanksgiving, but thought whatever... I'll wait until after the holidays. Not that I totally indulged, but definitely more desserts than I should have.
Pop isn't my weakness... I only have it on occasion. Maybe one can a week and I happen to prefer diet for the flavor. Weird. My weakness is ice cream. I'm going to try cutting that. My other downfall is to eat too many carbs throughout the day. Not with my meals... but my snacks are almost ALWAYS carbs. I'm going to make the effort to eat fruit, veggies and nuts for snack instead of pretzels, crackers or cookies.
Oh! And Happy {belated} Birthday!!!!! :D
Hi Alex :)
Isn't that comic awesome?
Oh! I LOVE ZUMBA! The music alone will get you pumped up. Just leave any inhibitions at home and have a blast!
Hi Blodeuedd :)
You could totally lose 2 kg if you put your mind to it. It's possible you may even find that you'll lose 2 kg of fat but gain 1 kg or more of muscle but look and feel better than you do right now. Replacing one or two servings of carbs with vegetables might just do the trick for you!
Hi nath :)
Thanks for your confidence. I started telling myself that same thing. I remember being so hungry and cranky for about two weeks the first time I started the Lose It app. I did it once, I could do it again, right? LOL!
That's a good plan you have there for your health. When you say 'eat more regularly' do you mean not skipping meals and or eating at random times? If so, I think that's a good idea. :)
I need to do something about my fitness. For me it's not so much about weight as it is about feeling better.
ReplyDeleteI could either loose 20 or so pounds, or transform at least a good ten to fifteen of those pounds into better toned muscle.
My main problem is sticking to exercising when my working schedule changes constantly, because I'm one of those people who need routine to function well.
We'll see what I manage to accomplish this time around.
In the meantime...Go, Christine, you are sooooo doing this!
My only health resolution is not the end the year heavier than I was on the first. I don't care if it's the same, wouldn't mind being lighter, but not heavier.
ReplyDeleteHi azteclady! :)
ReplyDeleteRegular exercise will definitely make anyone feel better. I'm telling you... you stick to it for three weeks straight and you will be addicted. If I miss a day, I swear my body craves exercise. It must be the endorphins. : )
Having an irregular work schedule has got to be challenging in so many ways. Of course, you need quality sleep, too! Maybe you need to just plan week by week... start with 3 days and then once you get consistent with that add another day in for a month or two and then another. How about jump rope? Jump ropes are cheap and I'm telling you 15 minutes of non stop jump roping is awesome exercise! For example, a 150 lb., 5'5" 45 year old woman burns 525 calories in an hour or about 131 calories in 15 minutes. I think that's awesome for the time spent! Just an idea...
Thanks so much for your support and confidence! xo
Lisa ... You can do that! It's definitely harder to get regular exercise when you've got such young kids... but I think you can do it. Just get on the scale regularly so you can keep yourself in check.
Did you know that people who weigh themselves once a week do better at maintaining their weight over a lifetime than people who don't get on the scale? It's true! Once a week--and I suggest doing it naked for the lowest weight. ; )
I don't do Resolutions, I find I feel like such a failure when I don't follow through or can't quite reach the goal. I really just focus on trying to be the best that I can be, it makes me more determined than an actual outcome per say.
ReplyDeleteOh yes back on the watch what I put in my mouth and getting back to exercise. I'm even more determined with this darn knee of mine which is doing better but not near perfect yet. I'll check out the lose-it app! If I can lose 25lbs I'll be over the moon!
Good for you Christine with your running I know you must feel like a million bucks when you finish, I know I felt good when I started and could run for just five minutes straight so imagine a 5K!!
Paula
I'm very good about exercise, but nutrition and portion control are a constant battle. I have the Lose It ap, but I got frustrated trying to fit the things I eat into their framework. Like, how do I calculate the calories of a salad I make myself? Or a tuna fish salad I prepare? What if I am using a bread that has way more calories than the Lose It app thinks it does? I found it kind of overwhelming. Any tips?
ReplyDeleteAnd great job on your fitness in 2011! I am thinking of setting a fitness goal for 2012, just not sure which one.
Thank you, Christine!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that if (when) I put my mind to it I'll find a way...but there will never be any rope jumping in my future (just as there will be no running). Why? Because the girls are large enough that no sports bra truly stops them from bouncing rather painfully.
So yeah...very little aerobic exercise beyond biking for me, thank you.
(Probably way more information that you wanted, too :-P )
I don't make resolutions. Plans or goals, but no resolutions. I used the LoseIt app last year, too. It has helped tremendously to keep track of my calories and exercise. However, I only managed to lose eight pounds last year and have been feeling very discouraged because of it.
ReplyDeleteBut, I am going to try my hardest and do my best to be healthier this year. That's my goal. Whether that includes weight loss or not is going to be a side issue.
Best wishes and luck for reaching your goals this year!
Paula,
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people feel the same way you do regarding Resolutions and you are living well if you focus on just being the best you can be every day. It's an ideal motto for life!
I'm glad to hear your knee is doing better, but honey! Don't be so hard on yourself!!! Your surgery was just a few weeks ago! Give it time.. don't rush. You'll get there. I would be happy losing 25 lbs. myself!
Jessica
ReplyDeleteSame. My battles are definitely portion control and nutrition in the form of too many snacks. It only takes a handful of pretzels, an extra cookie or two or a glass of wine to put you over your caloric needs every day and poof! You're at risk to gain weight. It's pretty tricky business.
Regarding the Lose It app... it is a pain entering your own foods into the database, but if you think you'd need the app for several months, it does pay off.
I enter a lot of dishes I make frequently--including my favorite salads--in RECIPES. I also enter things like tuna salad, my homemade tomato sauce, even my typical turkey sandwich so that I can just pull it up. You can also recall previous meals. I tend to eat the same three or four different versions of breakfast and the same for lunch. So I can just click on PREVIOUS MEAL, LUNCH on Monday and add everything to today all at once. Then if I omitted the tomatoes in my salad today, for example, I just delete tomatoes. Does that make sense?
I always entered the nutritional information on foods--including bread--that I buy into the app myself as a CUSTOM FOOD if the app didn't have the brand I buy. For foods that you buy freshly prepared that don't have nutritional information, I would use my best guess based on what's in the app database.
Also.... this is the BEST! I don't know when you used the app last, or what version, but now there is a bar code scanner in the app and YOU CAN SCAN THE BARCODE ON A FOOD PACKAGE AND IT GOES RIGHT INTO YOUR APP! It has worked for me three out of three times I tried it since Monday. So awesome.
FYI, I also enter CUSTOM EXERCISES for just about everything I do because I feel the calories burned in the app are way inflated. The numbers for calories burned for exercises on the fitday.com website are more accurate--much closer to what my Heart Rate Monitor calculates when I work out.
I know it all sounds like a PITA, especially for someone so busy as yourself, but like I said, if you're serious about using the app for 3 months or longer, it's worth the trouble.
You can also SHARE custom foods with people on your friends list. I have a lot of products from Trader Joe's in my database and would 'share' the nutritional info with two of my local friends so they didn't have to enter it all in manually. They have to be on your 'friends list' to do this. Which I'm actually having trouble with since my last upgrade, but I haven't tried very hard to troubleshoot it.
I hope this helps. I know I just inundated you with a ton of info... and probably made it sound really time consuming, but it's really not too bad. Sometimes I'd get my daughter to read off the nutritional info to me for a cookie or something... she'd help me do the task faster and hopefully raise her nutritional awareness a bit.
azteclady,
ReplyDeleteOh, I could see how the girls would restrict high impact aerobics for you. Walking and biking. And swimming. Although that requires access to a pool which can be cost prohibitive. You'll figure it out. xo
Brandy,
ReplyDeleteI like plans or goals better than resolutions, too. So let's just say I am making new plans for 2012 starting on Jan. 2. LOL!
Don't be discouraged! Eight pounds in a year is great! It is better than ZERO or PLUS 2 like me! And you know that the slower the weight comes off the more likely it is to STAY off, so you are doing OKAY!
By the way, since I updated the Lose It app to the newer version, I can't access FRIENDS on the app anymore. Do you still see me on your list? Or did I disappear? I have to look into that....
Congrats on the 30 lb weight loss and keeping it off! I got back on the scale on New Year's Day and...my unhealthy eating and lack of exercise has resulted in me adding yet more weight on. I've still keep off just over half of what I originally lost, but...I need to get myself back on track. TBH I think I need to give up Coca Cola...even for a short period to kick start the weight loss. The problem is I don't want too :) Maybe getting down to one can a day?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to get back to my target weight, but am going to aim for a slightly higher goal first . Baby steps :)
Good luck to us all :)
Ha! I’m always 10 lbs. over my target weight regardless of what I do, but I do try to stay away from junk food and all that because I’m addicted so once I take a bite I eat the whole thing and come back for more, so no sweets, fried stuff or anything like that near my house. I think that helps a lot when trying to watch my weight, which I do all the time because I’m 5'4" and everything shows. But I did overindulge during the holidays so I’m ready to get back to the gym and my daily routine. I don’t have an iphone or ipad but I have one of those Polar heartrate monitors and it tells me how many calories I burned during training and it makes a chart and all, so at least I keep track of what I’m burning.
ReplyDeleteChristine, you're still on my friends list. But, I haven't updated my apps this week-yet. I'll update anything that needs it and then let you know.
ReplyDeleteOoh thanks for that app!
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to get healthy. Diabetes is affecting everyone in my family and I want to get pro-active about it.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteThat is super helpful. I did not have the scanner in the app, so I will definitely update, and I did not know about the haring either. It is a great idea to use recipes. So thanks so much for all if these tips!
Now to find the time to actually do all the inputting... argh!
orannia, I think cutting down to one Coca Cola a day would be a good start. Do you know how much sugar is in a can of cola?!? Not that I don't have my own vices *ahem* ice cream *ahem* Plus cola has a whole slew of chemicals and bad for you things that our bodies are just not meant to consume. They interfere with our body's ability to properly digest food and produce or store energy, primarily in the liver. I learned this today, actually. My diet is certainly not pure, but I do try hard to eat "whole foods" (foods as close to their original state as possible). Anyway, this info about processed foods and our liver function is good info to have learned and I'm just passing it along. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Brie, I love my Polar heart rate monitor, too. It really is eye opening how hard you have to work to burn a measly 100 calories, isn't it? I barely burn 92 calories running ONE mile or 10 minutes. I need to think about that every time I eat a cookie!
Brandy, Thanks for checking... I figured it out! I had to re-enter my password to access the friend section because I upgraded to a new phone on Christmas. Oops. I forgot. ; )
ames, Downloading the app is the easy part... using it is the hard part! I've already missed entering a few meals. Grr! Anyway, I think it's a VERY good idea to keep tabs on your diet if diabetes is running in your family. Keeping a food journal--which this essentially is-- REALLY helps you be cognizant of your dietary habits. I swear there were times I had a tortilla chip inches from my mouth and thought, "Do I really want to go through the trouble of entering this? And do I really need these 14 calories right now?" Because you know that one 14 calorie chip becomes 140 calories REALLY fast! Good luck, sweetie! If you want to friend me there, find me using my gmail address. Do you have it? It's not on my blogger profile because it has my full name in it.
Jessica, so glad that info dump was helpful! ; ) Wait until you try the scanner. It's fantastic.
LOL, both. Although that would mean I should start eating breakfast ^_^; Not going to be an easy things to change...
ReplyDeleteI so hear you on the Coca Cola. Must. Try. Harder.
ReplyDelete*Jumping up and down waving hand* Me, I am totally with you! I lost 22 lbs from August through December at the end of 2011. I am on Jenny Craig so eating healthier and staying active. Now that I don't have my horse class my activity level has dropped considerablly. So I'm getting back into the swing of both eating my Jenny Craig food/having portion control when I go out to eat and exercising! I'm glad you're taking that step to get to your goal weight, and I hope all goes well for you in 2012. :-D
ReplyDeleteHowdy! This post could not be written much better!
ReplyDeleteGoing through this article reminds me of my previous roommate!
He continually kept preaching about this. I will forward this post
to him. Fairly certain he'll have a very good read. Thanks for sharing!
My site > heart rate monitor