Tag: Consistent Exercise

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Weight Loss Exercise

Consistent weight loss and health



Consistency is the key to weight loss. I was reading through an article today and thinking about exactly what it is that really stops people that are looking at a real solution to weight loss. I believe that the key to healthy weight loss really is consistency and not trying to lose lots of weight in a week.

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistent weight loss and health

Consistency for Weight Loss

Consistent meals – One of the most important things that you can do with your health in general is to keep a nice even keel with respect to your blood sugar. When you eat a donut and coffee for breakfast and then nothing until lunch then you will get a big blood sugar spike and then a drop soon after and be just dragging your way until lunch. If you eat consistently small but evenly spaced meals every couple of hours during the day then you will not have this blood sugar problem.

Consistent meal sizes – If you make sure that you eat 200 – 400 calorie meals then this will go hand in hand with the point above. Having even sized meals will mean that you are not bloated after one meal and then hungry after the next. Of course there may be a problem with dinner being a little bigger and an evening meal being a little smaller but overall this consistent eating will make you feel much better and your weight losses will be more consistent.

Consistent exercise – I know some people that will exercise a lot on the weekend but get nearly no exercise during the week. This is really quite dangerous. If your body is not being exercised at least somewhat on a daily basis then these big events on the weekends can be damaging to your muscles and also lead to more injuries because of the stress you are putting the muscles through. Much better to have a quick workout in the morning and evening and then still push it on the weekend, then to takes four or five days off in a stretch and not get any exercise until Saturday.

Consistent rest – I have hit on this a few times in the past and rest is important to your well being as well as the healing of your muscles after exercise. Stretch daily, sleep well most nights and if you need it a hot tub, heating pad, or massage can do wonders to get rid of those little aches and pains that may not be going away quickly and holding yopu back a bit from going all out when you want to.

Remember that consistency is the key. Weight loss is something that often people want to see those big losing weeks but it really is much more healthy and possible to be consistent. Losing two or three pounds a week is much better then losing six pounds one week and losing nothing the next couple weeks.As we get ready for Christmas and then make new years resolutions later this month we are always looking at pushing ourselves or pulling back so try to think about this and make sure that you keep your consistency

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General Weight Loss Tips

Finding My Groove

Today marks week four, day two of consistent exercise with Insanity. That is, 6.5 workouts, most of them are 40 minutes long. And I’m reminding myself that I’ve been here before. In the spring, I made it 14 weeks. I was seeing improvement and then it stopped. I don’t remember why exactly (something to go back and read) but I’m telling myself that this doesn’t stop when the calendar fills up or when 60 days are over. If I’m being honest, it will take a full year of consistent exercise for me to really be in a better place physically. Probably two. And then for the rest of my life.

In the past three weeks, my food intake has been hit or miss. I’ve been experimenting with different calorie counts, and I think I’ve found one that will work for me. On myfitnesspal (lorriebee) you work with net calories. This means if your net calorie goal is 1,400 and you burn 500 calories, you can eat 1,900 calories in a day. I think this is a great tool, but for some reason I’ve been struggling with the notion of eating all of my burned calories.

Myfitnesspal gives you an estimated calories burned, but I’m not convinced it’s accurate. I think I’m burning 400-600 calories during Insanity. But when I log it in, it’s usually more. And then I’d see this insane amount of food I could still eat. And for some reason that triggered me to eat beyond hunger.

So to calm my tender brain I’ve decided, which some research and calculating, that I will consume 1,600 calories a day regardless of how much I burn during exercise. Of course there will be some ups and downs with that number, but I feel good with that. I’m burning about 400 calories, six days a week, so that is a net of about 1,100-1,300 calories which is totally in the weight loss zone for me.

I also feel like 1,600 calories is a very reasonable amount of food for me. I can wrap my head around it and not be obsessive. I can move the numbers around easily to accommodate my day. It feels flexible to me.

If I know I’m going out to dinner or to an event in the evening. I can still have a 200 calorie breakfast and 400 calorie lunch with 1,000 calories to work with in the evening. Or if I’m in the mood for a bigger, 500-600 calorie breakfast/brunch sort of thing. I can make that happen too. It goes with my new mantra “I can have what I want, but I can’t have everything I want” which simply means that yes, if I want to go out to dinner with my husband, I can do that. But, it doesn’t mean I need to go out to eat twice in a day and then snack all day and have dessert after every meal. I just don’t need that much food.

Yesterday was my first day trying out my new set calorie count and it went so well. I even showed a two pound loss on the scale this morning from it. I woke up and had a serving of mexican chili for breakfast, and again for lunch. I measured it and estimated the calories. I hate two teas with milk and sugar. A small treat. And dinner was teriyaki chicken. I didn’t feel obsessive about anything and when I hit the 1,600 calorie mark I felt comfortable and done for the day.

I know this probably sounds like the ramblings of a man-woman, but I needed to share. Mainly to work through these fears I have of sharing and acting. I’m trying to change my inner dialogue and making this a positive journey. Not one of self defeating agony. Last night I was in that bed staring at my clothes hanging in the closet and I visualized what it would be like to fit in all of them, effortlessly. And then I visualized them being too big. I imagined that the sweaters looked like deflated balloons where my arms used to go. I realized in that moment that I can make all of these things happen, there is nothing stopping me.

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Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

My 2011 Story

I’m slowly getting back in the groove of counting calories and I have to say that showcasing what I eat here is challenging me to make better decisions. You guys have been known to keep me on my toes with comments, so for the “eat more vegetables” reminders, I find myself throwing a salad on my plate where I otherwise would have went without.

I’m also drinking a lot of water. I find that I just don’t drink enough through the day and while water, juice and milk are the only beverages I consume on a regular basis, I’m just not drinking enough. I’ve got water bottles filled and in the refrigerator for easy access.

I’ve been thinking today about what my story will be at the end of this year. What I want it to be. Come January first I want to reflect on 2011 and be proud of the first three months of consistent exercise. That I stuck with it even when the scale was slow to move. How I believed in myself despite people asking “are you sticking with your exercise?” assuming I had stopped. A valid question giving my past history. I will talk about how in April I started to take my eating seriously with calorie counting, and how the hard part was doing it even on days when I really didn’t want to.

I will talk about how the scale started to move and I was seeing my weight go down each week. Every month my clothes were getting looser. By early Fall I had to buy new pants and by winter I was down two sizes. My face is slimmer and people are noticing. They will wonder how I did it- there won’t be a gimmick, no pills, not diet fad of the week and no restrictive plans. Just me believing in myself.

I will talk about how I feared not losing the weight- would I not lose weight even if I tried? I believed in myself and tried anyway. I will talk about how I learned to eat in moderation. How I found other ways to fill myself up.

I don’t know what my weight will be come January 2012, but I truly believe it will be significantly lower than it is today. On top of that I will feel the joys of being able to move a little easier and feel much more comfortable in my body.

What will your story be?

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