The Party's Over

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.

One Year Later

Here I go again talking all about myself and my journey to a healthier me. I apologize for the self-centeredness, but posts like this are effective methods of reaffirming my commitment to myself. Hopefully, I'm also providing encouragement and inspiration to anyone else on a journey to a leaner, healthier self. :)

Exactly one year ago today I wrote a post called New Beginnings in which I made a commitment to myself to make changes in my eating habits in order to become the healthy and fit me that I want to be.

I had already been exercising almost every day already at that time, but I knew the final steps to reaching a healthier weight were to make permanent changes to my diet. Those changes were pretty simple-- in theory, anyway. I basically started counting calories. Every single calorie. For a whole year. I won't lie and say this is not driving me crazy at this point, but it works, so I don't want to stop. Anyway, I counted calories by using the Lose It app on my iPhone almost every single day in the last year. I relearned portion sizes by counting and measuring and weighing foods and I reduced and eliminated a lot of snacks and desserts. I found great incentive in exercising every single day so that I could 'earn' those calories back into my daily budget. Believe me, there were many days that I wouldn't have had enough calories in my daily budget for dinner if I hadn't gone on that 20 minute run or that 10 mile bike ride.

I had a lot of success with the Lose It app and lost 37 pounds between April 1 and November 1 last year. I feel great --both physically and emotionally being where I am now and am never going back to that weight ever again. I just know it.

But, I'm not done yet! I hit that dreaded weight loss plateau last November and haven't been able to break it until very recently and even then, it's slow going. In truth, I gained about 8 pounds between late November and early March of this year. It baffles me as I've been counting calories all this time with the exception of several days around the holidays. And while I indulged a little bit over the holidays, I didn't go crazy pigging out and partying and I was still working out during that time, too. I started strength training two times regularly starting in October, so it is likely that I've gained some muscle mass and we all know that muscle weighs more than fat per volume, but not 8 pounds worth! Two different fitness professionals have suggested that I may have gained some weight back because I am not getting enough calories. You read that right. The argument is that you can actually slow your metabolism down by not getting enough calories to sustain your activity level. So your body sort of goes into conservation mode and stores the calories you consume instead of using your reserves, i.e., burning the fat you already have on your body. It just feels so counter-intuitive to actually eat more to break the plateau and start losing weight again, but I thought I'd try it. So I adjusted my program in Lose It so that my calorie budget was higher each day by about 250 calories, and guess what? I've lost 2 pounds over the last three weeks. Slow, but at least it's budging. I also think I'm at the point where what I eat is as important as the number of calories I eat. I'm going to start reducing the frequency of "white" foods--i.e., simple carbs such as white flours and simple sugars, etc. in my diet. I know it's going to be a lot easier said than done, but I'm going to make a conscious effort to do so and hopefully see some results.

I have 25 pounds more to lose to get to my target weight. I know I look healthy now and most importantly, I feel it, too... but why settle for looking and feeling good when I know with some dedication and discipline I can look and feel amazing, right? It's what I want, so I'm going to do it.

Maybe it'll take a little less than 25 pounds to get there. I'm not exactly sure of the numbers. I figure I'll know when I get there. :)

As always, thank you for your continued support and encouragement as I made many self-absorbed posts like this one throughout the last year and I'm sure will continue to do so in the future as well. I've got the best team of personal cheerleaders right here in you guys.
Thank you!! xo





You can download the FREE Lose It app to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad at the iTunes store.

You can also sign up to use Lose It on your computer at http://loseit.com.

In my experience, the calories burned for the exercises in the Lose It app database are often largely inflated. I recommend using the calories burned calculator at fitday.com for a more accurate estimate of calories burned for the activities you do and then creating a custom exercise for each activity in the Lose It app. Or purchase a heart rate monitor that has a calorie counting feature for even more accuracy.

Lose It! Update

Exactly three months ago today made a post titled New Beginnings in which I made a commitment to myself to cut calories from my diet to finally get the weight loss I've wanted for so long that exercise alone just wasn't giving me. I started using the Lose It! app on my iPhone on April 1 as the tool to track my daily calories and stick to a calorie budget and hopefully lose some weight. In my post back on April 1, I also said I wasn't going to do any diet or weight loss talk on my blog here but on my fitness blog See how she runs... Well, I changed my mind. I have had fantastic results with this tool so far and hope to motivate or inspire someone else to do the same.

Since April 1, I have lost a total 26.5 lbs. (12kg)!!

I have done this by exercising nearly every day and by using the Lose It! app to help me stick to a daily calorie budget. I am not an expert on weight loss, but I have learned a lot in the last three months that may help you do the same.

Sometimes it's just a matter of hearing or seeing someone else succeed at something and you deciding you want that, too. So you go for it and you just do it. That's what I hope to inspire by posting my success so far.

I have come up with a list of, I don't know what to call it-- advice? words of wisdom? --that might help you achieve a weight loss goal, too.

1-Determination

You have to want to lose weight. You have to want to be healthy, live healthy, feel and look good. Do you want it? If you do, you can do it.

2-Commitment

You have to live with yourself every day as long as you live. Make a commitment to yourself to make yourself better in the things you can change. There are a lot of things about ourselves and our lives that we have no control over and cannot change. Your body weight? You can change that. You can do it.

3-Educate yourself

Do a little research online, read a book, download the Lose It! app and find out how many calories you need to consume every day in order to lose weight at a safe rate. There is no one magic number since your current weight and activity level is a contributing factor to your calorie budget. It's always a good idea to consult with your doctor first.

4-Will power

I'm not going to lie. The first ten days were brutal. I was hungry pretty much all the time, even when I was sleeping. I just kept thinking how badly I wanted a healthier body. I figure I wasn't suffering when I ate what I wanted and enjoyed all that food that led to weight gain. I could suffer for nine months to lose it. I would do it because I really wanted it, and I found the will power. You have to find the will power and you can do it, too. If you're feeling weak resolve, enlist someone to help you (see last point below).

5-Exercise every day

The truth is that you have to work very hard to burn a good number of calories through exercise. A 150 lb. woman walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes burns about 90 calories. That's barely an apple.

The best way to determine how many calories you burn during exercise is with a heart rate monitor because it bases your caloric burn directly from your heart rate that's tied to oxygen consumption. And we know to burn fuel (from food you just ate or stored fat), you need oxygen. But a heart rate monitor is not practical for everyone as it is an investment of upwards of $100 or more. There are some great websites out there that have online calculators for various activities. The one I like to use is at fitday.com: http://www.fitday.com/webfit/burned/calories_burned.html

Note: I think the calories burned for exercises in the Lose It! App are a bit inflated.

6-Count everything and make everything count.

Count every bite of food you take and every beverage you drink. It all adds up very quickly. Also, choose foods that are healthy for you and you'll feel fuller longer. One small cookie isn't going to make you feel as satisfied as one large apple. Plus the apple has health benefits, the cookie doesn't.

7-Measure your foods.

Measure foods by volume (measuring cups) or weight (using a kitchen scale) based on the serving size for that particular food. I found I had to re-educate myself on serving sizes and the approximate number of calories in a lot of basic foods.

8-The achievement factor

Know that if you stick it out for a week or two, you will get results and then you can feed off your own achievement. In other words, your own success will motivate you to keep going. It's all on you, but you can do it.

Kind of for fun, but really very true for me:

9-Don't read any cooking magazines, flip through cookbooks or visit any cooking blogs or forums when you are hungry or if you think it will make you hungry or just want to eat food even if you're not hungry.

I basically read my cooking magazines while I'm actually eating breakfast or lunch and that's it. Any other time it makes me want to eat. But it's getting better. My body is adapting to fewer calories and is happy this way. :)

10-Have a support person or team in place.

It helps if you have at least one person who is in on your personal mission and is supportive. My husband and daughters have listened to me talk diet and exercise day in and day out and I am very grateful for their patience. And also for their support when I announce my latest total pounds lost... or when I put a moratorium on their favorite restaurant because I can't get anything remotely healthy to eat there. And for their encouragement when I tell them how much more I have to go and they think I can do it before my target date.

In conclusion, I'll just add that if I can do this, you can too. I literally decided on April 1 that that was it. That was the day I was going to do it. And gosh darn it, I'm doing it!

If you want it, then decide to do it.

Decide it, then do it.

I know you can. :)

This and That + 2 Winners

Can you believe it's May already? The days and seasons are just flying by. I don't know where the time goes and I sure could use some more time in my days, that's for sure.

HEALTH & FITNESS
I'm going to try to be brief on this topic, because Lord knows I can go on and on and on about diet and exercise these days. Back in the beginning of April, I blogged about starting a calorie counting program to help me lose weight using the Lose It app on my iPhone. I started on April 1 and am happy to report that I've lost 8 lbs. as of May 1! All I can say is thank goodness I got some great results right away, because I was pretty miserable--hungry and cranky--for the first week or two. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy, but it's definitely easier than those first two weeks.

April was a great month in exercise for me. I've been working out 5-6 days a week now as opposed to the 4-5 days a week previously, which has been awesome. Not just because I'm burning more calories, but my body simply craves the daily exercise now, too. When a day off comes along, I get kind of restless and my body keeps whispering, "go, go, go!" but my brain says, "wait! ice, ice, ice baby before you get hurt!" I battle myself the whole day.

My friend Maureen, who is also my running class instructor from the gym, started up a mixed level bootcamp class on Friday mornings at 5:45 am and of course, I signed up for it. Last Friday was our first class and while the drills were intense, because it was the first class, there was also some downtime for her to explain things, so it wasn't brutal. During one drill she said we would probably have muscle soreness over the weekend, and I nearly tuned her out thinking that didn't really apply to me. I workout six days a week and even cross train! Well, I've got one word to describe how I felt over the weekend: OUCH! I winced and maybe even groaned out loud every time I sat or had to go up or down the stairs. I'm thinking this class will be good for me.

I only went running four times in April, but I made the most of those runs and worked on my pace. One of my fitness goals for 2010 is to run at a 10:30 minute mile pace and this morning I ran 2 miles in 21:05-- the first mile at 10:33 and the second mile at 10:32. Totally made my day.

My husband and I also went out on our first cycling rides of the season in April. I think all the running I've been doing since last fall has improved my cardiovascular fitness level because I only needed to stop once on two of the most challenging hills of my favorite route through the wildlife reservation. Last fall, I had to stop twice on each of those hills. I'm hoping to do the entire loop without stopping at all by the end of the summer.

COOKING
I've got a handful of recipes that I want to share and will hopefully get them up soon. Most are main dish recipes, but I also want to try my hand at making Angel Food Cake and biscotti that is less than 100 calories per piece. I love biscotti.

GARDENING
I really wanted to re-establish my vegetable garden this spring as I haven't had one in three years because of the addition we did on the house, but it's nearly time to plant summer crops here in Zone 6, and I'm no where near ready. I wanted to get a fence put up in the yard first because the garden will back up to it and I haven't even called anyone in for an estimate yet. So I was thinking for this year, to maybe plant some vegetables in with the flowers that are in my side yard perennial garden. It's a small garden between the house and the driveway, but it gets enough sun and I'll see it every time I go out, so I'll probably be more likely to weed and water it anyway. I just wondered if it would be too accessible to the deer, but then decided no. The deer would have to walk up my driveway, go between my car and the house that is only maybe 6 feet wide and the only way out is the way they came in because the steps into the house are right there. Well, clearly, what do I know. Look what I spotted in that space this past Sunday:

Isn't that the cutest thing! It was so small, I wondered if it was born there early that morning or the night before. A couple of hours later it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere in my yard. I wonder if it wandered away alone or if the mother came back for it. I kind of hope I'll see it again so I'll know it's okay, but it'll probably be back in a month or two eating my garden! I wonder if I'll think it's a sweet little thing then.


2 KIDS AND A DOG GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
Finally, I used the list randomizer at random.org to select two lucky winners of the 2 Kids and a Dog Calendar giveaway! And the winners are ....

BRANDY and DOODLEGIRL !!!

Congratulations! Please email me at krauscakes[at]verizon[dot]net with your mailing address so the lovely Alexia from 2 Kids and a Dog can get your calendar out to you in the mail. I hope you get some smiles out of their calendar like I do! Thanks for playing! :o)

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

I want to know what's going on in your world lately... do you have anything to share?

Do you have a garden? Do you container garden? What vegetables, herbs or flowers do you like to grow every year?

List Randomizer

There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Brandy
doodlegirl
Dru
orannia
Lover of Romance
nath

Timestamp: 2010-05-03 02:30:32 UTC

New Beginnings

I love the first day of a month. I don't know why, but it always seems like a fresh day to start something new, like a clean slate. Today I made a new beginning and added something new and important to my health and fitness routine. I am counting calories. It sounds easy, but I've decided it's about time I be more mindful of my actual daily caloric intake. I have been pretty diligent about working out 4-5 days a week for the last couple of years, and figured out a long while ago that burning calories through these workouts wasn't enough of a change for me to get to an ideal weight and the older I get, the harder it's getting. I do know that I am in better cardiovascular shape today than I was six years ago, but it's still not enough. Over the last couple of months, I have made efforts to increase my fitness levels even more by adding the running and aiming for 5-7 workouts per week, but it has been challenging getting those few extra workouts scheduled in each week. So the bottom line is that I really need to eliminate more calories from my diet to make the healthy changes that I want. It's not a new revelation for me, but a simple lack of discipline to just do it. Well today is the day I pulled some determination from somewhere within and decided to put myself to task.

Today I started using the Lose It! app on the iPhone that I downloaded months and months ago to create a diet program. I know I've only used it for one day, but I'm pretty excited about this app. It was so easy to set up and start using right away. By entering my current and goal weights and the number of pounds per week I want to lose, the program came up with a daily caloric limit for me. Then I log whatever I eat that day and the app tracks the calories for me. There's a huge database of foods available to choose from or you can customize your foods and enter the nutritional information yourself. So many foods are already in the database though, it's pretty neat. For example, the Lemon Zest Luna bar I ate this morning for breakfast was right there in the Lose It! database and all I had to do was click on it and the basic nutritional information was added to my daily log. Pretty easy!

In addition to logging calories you consume, you can also enter your workouts for that day and those calories burned are subtracted from your daily calories. Just like the food, there are activities already available to choose from, but you can also customize your own workouts and the calories you burn for those activities yourself. Using a heart rate monitor that calculates this during your workout is a great way to get that information.

If nothing else, Lose It! is going to keep me honest with myself about whatever I eat and make me think twice about "cheating." I did have a mid morning and mid afternoon snack today, but I really thought about the quality and quantity of what I was grabbing knowing I was going to have to record it.

If you have an iPhone and want to keep tabs on your calories in and calories burned, check out Lose It! You've got nothing to lose but unwanted pounds! Ha ha. So clever.

For more information about Lose It!, visit iTunes or check out the Lose It! website at http://www.loseit.com/. The site has a lot of different screenshots of the app there that showcase its usefulness. Oh, and did I mention the app is FREE?

As much as you all know by now that I love to talk about running and biking here on my blog, after this post, any diet talk will be over on my little fitness blog that I've been silently maintaining since January. It's called See how she runs... Stop by and visit me there if you're looking for some motivation or inspiration to exercise or if you see me slacking, please get on my case, okay?

If all goes according to plan, and the Lose It! app is as effective as I hope it as at keeping me on task, I will have reached my target weight by December 23, 2010. Wouldn't that be the best Christmas gift I could give myself? :)