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Operation Skinny & Fit

Tag Archives: Calories

Getting back on that train

30 Thursday May 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

≈ 1 Comment

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before and after, Body cleanse, Calories, eating healthy, exercise, fitness, food, health, healthier living, lose weight, Losing Weight, motivation, weight loss goals, weight-loss

So I’ve been absent for a while. I barely have time to breath let alone blog, but I’m still on the weight loss train. I’ve relapsed a few times with my food. Since I got back from California it has been an ongoing struggle to keep with my food routine. I’m back in the gym working out, which definitely helps. But I am a fatty that cannot stop eating, lol!  So I decided just a day or so ago that I’m going to do another detox. I feel like I need a reboot. Sugar is the devil and my body craves it constantly. Damn those Sprinkle cupcake shops in California!! I think a detox is just what I need. I’m trying now to figure out when I want to start. This weekend I will be out of the house the entire time. So not this weekend. Wednesday I have to go to Ohio for work. So I think Thursday morning is as good a time as any. Unless I do it Monday and Tuesday as a 2 day detox, but that’s not going to be effective. I need to think about this some more and figure out my schedule.

I decided to start fresh. My biggest problem coming back was that we ate fast food every single day while on the way to Cali and while we were there. So of coursed I gained a few pounds. As soon as I started chasing the number I was at before we left, I couldn’t maintain and I just kept eating. So I created a new My Fitness Pal so I wasn’t staring at that old number. Now I’m just starting fresh from where I’m at right now. It’s helping.

Completely off subject and random, but recently I completed the Dirty Girl Mud Run. I am amazed at just how fun it was. I can’t wait to do it again next year! Any ladies out there who haven’t heard of this should look into it.

My sister sent me this picture. The one on the left was me before on my first trip to San Diego. The right is the most recent. It is definitely  motivating to keep at this. I never EVER want to be that girl on the left again.

IMG_5450

I need to go back to work now so that is all for now.

 

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The devil is trying to keep me fat forever

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, exercise, fitness, healthier living, lose weight, Losing Weight, motivation, weight loss goals, weight-loss

I have been meaning to post here for many days now but alas life is keeping me busy. Meaning of subject heading: I fell today and messed my ankle up. I swear that step came out of nowhere. I’m a little bruised up but I’m icing it tonight with a goal of hitting the gym bright and early tomorrow. I’ve strayed a bit from my journey. I went on vacation and I’m finding it difficult to get back on track. In order to fix this I re-joined my previous gym for a fresh start. New goals for this week: Water only (DIET SODA IS THE DEVIL) No red meat No fast food Hit the gym Run canal one day on or before Sunday Consistently take It Works products Stick within calorie range and track food with my fitness pal I’m sure there is more I need to do but this is a start because my keyboard is giving me crap. I just need to get back into a routine. No more “I’ll start over tomorrow.” Instead, I’m refocusing with the NOW.

Weigh in next scheduled for 2 Fridays from now.

That is all. 🙂

Complete Focus

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, fitness, health, healthier living, healthy-living, weight loss goals, weight-loss

I don’t know what has come over me the last 2 weeks. I’m not even going to kid myself. I went completely off course. As I said on Friday, it is what it is. For 2 days now I am back in it. I got on WordPress last night and read all of the blogs I follow. That motivated me. Then I got on Pinterest to dig around. So I stayed up until 1 or 2AM last night and I am fully motivated today. Tracking food, check. Gym time as soon as Mike gets home, check. Coming home to watch the Biggest Loser episode from Monday and do weights, check. No excuse. No interruption. My butt will be in the gym within the hour.

I find this to be a pattern. The closer I get to the 100’s I start to self destruct. I don’t know if it’s because it’s taking so long and I’m just over seeing the 2 in my weight. Not that the number should matter, but I’ve been at this so long I just want to be 1something. 199. 198. 199.9999999 I don’t care. I just want a 1.

Whatever the reason for my slip – I’m done. My anniversary is coming up on the 11th. Mike and I have been together 12 years (I think). 12 or 13. I think 12. Anyway, I want to be in the 100’s when that happens because I will officially be the weight I was when he and I started dating. I was right at 199-200. The lowest I’ve been since he and I started dating is 175, which is my overall goal weight. I JUST WANT TO GET INTO THE HUNDREDS!!!!!!!!! Ugh.

So tomorrow is my weigh in day. I have no idea what I weigh today. I don’t care because it won’t be official until tomorrow anyway so I’m not even stepping on it. Then tomorrow I will re-evaluate what I need to do to get over this stupid 200 mark.

My Plan This Week – Edited and Replanned

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in Food, weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, exercise, fitness, food, grocery store, health, healthier living, healthy-living, Jackie Warner, Losing Weight, motivation, weight loss goals, weight-loss

I mentioned before that I have a cousin who is an expert on anything important about weight loss, nutrition and fitness. How convenient right? Seriously yes, I am very lucky. I mentioned to my aunt that I was going to do Jackie’s plan and she called my cousin right away. After talking to Heather I decided I’m not going with Jackie’s nutrition plan. A 1200 calorie plan is one thing, but I didn’t take into consideration how much I work out. I don’t want to mess up my metabolism. Instead I am going with Jackie’s fitness plan, but I’m going with to keep doing what I have with my nutrition. I’m losing weight. I feel great. There is really no reason to drop to 1200 calories and risk damaging my metabolism even if I intended it for short term.

The main reason I wanted to do Jackie’s plan in the first place was to challenge myself with something. I like numbers. I like having a plan, whether it be 10 days or whatever. So the 3 phases appealed to me.

So, long conversation short, I am going to challenge myself instead with the fitness part of Jackie’s plan, which is where I’m slacking anyway because I focus too much on cardio and that is an absolute no-no. I know it’s a big no- no, but it doesn’t stop me from letting it slip. Jackie’s plan will help with that because it all involves weights and the cardio in between is jumping rope.

I’m also going to work out a plan where I may do as Heather suggested and circuit my calories. Do low calorie days, then maintenance calorie days, then low again. I need to talk to her again when I’m not in such a rush and I can write the exact information down. I like this though idea though because what she described really fit well with my habits now and it will keep my body guessing. It looks something like this:

  • Sunday, Monday, Tuesday = low calorie day
  • Wendesday = high calorie day (Extra calories coming from nutritious foods only)
  • Thursday, Friday = low calorie day
  • Saturday = high calorie day (“Cheat” meal)

I failed to mention in my previous post about Jackie’s plan that it included 2 cheat meals on the weekend. She said to look at the week as a work week with our food. We worked hard all week so come the weekend we get 2 cheat meals that don’t exceed 1000 calories. So the high calorie days would equate my cheat meals, but fall on Wednesday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday as I have been.

I need to talk to Heather again about the calories per day, but I’m thinking for low calorie day 1400-1600, and a high calorie day to be 1800-2200.

Anyway, rather than limit what I’m eating all week to exact foods per day as I had in my previous plan, I am going to limit myself to certain foods. This list is according to what’s in my kitchen at the moment. My snacks, and how many snacks I have, will depend on my calories for that day and what I’ve eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So my new food plan this week:

Breakfast: 230 Calories

I’m keeping breakfast the same because I love this meal in the morning. It doesn’t take too long. It is visually appealing because it’s a plateful and it keeps me full.

Scrambled omelette made up of:

  • Grape tomatoes 1/2 cup – 54 Calories
  • Cheddar mild 2% milk reduced fat shredded cheese 1/8 cup – 40 Calories (I’m unhappy with this package and I need to find a sub. It was the best my grocery had unfortunately. I can usually do 1/4 cup for the same amount as 1/8 of this one.)
  • Liquid egg whites 6 tbsp – 50 Calories
  • 1 whole egg – 70 Calories
  • Spinach 1 cup – 7 Calories
  • Mushrooms  1/2 cup – 9 Calories

Lunch:

One of the following

  • Deli smoked turkey slices 4 slices 80 calories
  • Baked tilapia filet – 110 calories
  • Johnsonville turkey sausage 120 Calories
  • Gortons fish sandwich fillet 150 calories

WITH

  • Broccoli 1 cup – 30 Calories
  • Avocado 1/2 raw – 161 Calories

Dinner: 

One of the following:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts 4 ounces – 100 calories
  • Baked tilapia filet – 110 calories

WITH

  • Green beans 1 cup – 40 calories
  • Asparagus 5 spears – 20 calories
  • Whole grains brown rice, 1/2 cup 155 calories

Snacks:

  • Greek Yogurt 1 cup – 120 calories, 1/2 cup blueberries 41 calories
  • Apple with skin 80 cal, Peanut butter 1-2 tbsp 105-210 calories OR
  • Celery  1 cup chopped, 14 calories, peanut butter 1-2 tbsp 105-210 calories (my PB fix with either apple or celery)
  • Tangerine 37 Calories
  • Nutrition wholesom nut mix – 1 package – 200 Calories
  • Egg white 14 calories per egg
  • Grapes 1 cup, 110 calories
  • Carrots raw 1 cup, 52 calories
  • Banana, 111 calories

And my overall plan of the week (no edits here):

  • Follow the meal plan as listed above
  • Cardio workout in gym Monday – Friday
  • Jackie’s home workout Monday – Friday
  • Complete Valentine’s Day walk/run with my sister on Saturday. The goal is to run as much of it as I can with no more than a minute of walking in between.
  • Rest on Sunday
  • Drink 13 cups of water a day – Jackie said by drinking 3 liters of water you increase your metabolism by 33%.

I am now unofficially (since it isn’t my Friday weigh in) about 5.5 pounds from being in the hundreds. I was going to see the movie Safe Haven when it comes out on Valentine’s Day. I doubt I will meet it by Thursday, but at any rate I changed my mind about my reward. Instead of the movie I’m going to buy some new running shoes!

My answer to “What are you doing to lose weight?”

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

≈ 2 Comments

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before and after, Body cleanse, breakfast, Calories, carbs, exercise, fat, fitness, food, goals, grocery store, health, healthier living, healthy-living, Jackie Warner, lose weight, Losing Weight, Meal Replacement Shakes, metabolism, motivation, my fitness pal, New Years Resolutions, nutrition, positivity, The Biggest Loser, This is why you're fat, tupperware, water, weight loss goals, weight watchers, weight watchers points, weight-loss

I’ve been blogging since June of last year. In the beginning I was informational. I wanted to share everything that worked for me. Since then, this blog has developed into more of a journal and a place where I can hold myself accountable. People ask me a lot what I’m doing to lose weight. I usually refer to my blog when people do, but no one wants to scroll through my rambling to look for useful information. So today I decided to make a summary post for all of the posts I’ve done in the past that I feel would help people live healthier and/or lose weight. These are the suggestions I would make to anybody who wants to make changes that are realistic and long term, and these are the changes I’ve made myself that have helped me get where I am today.

My before and after – starting now to make changes – see here.

How you can do Weight Watchers on your own, for FREE – see here.

How to use the free Weight Watchers app on your phone – see here.

Don’t drink soda. That includes regular AND diet – see here and here.

The importance of preparation. Preparation = successful weight loss. Try using Tupperware – see here.

Staying motivated to lose weight – see here.

My Fitness Pal (food tracker) and a breakdown of understanding nutrition labels – see here.

Tips to making healthy food choices – see here.

My tips to losing weight and keeping it off – see here.

Easy changes you can make today to start living healthier and/or losing weight – see here.

Using a free app on your phone to download books for FREE and learn about fitness, nutrition, and weight loss – see here.

To lose weight you have to EAT – a day in my food diary – see here and here.

Why breakfast is the most important meal of the day and how this applies to your weight loss – see here.

Finding ways to make exercise fun – see here.

Tips from Jackie Warner on what to eat and how to exercise (from a book called, “This is Why You’re Fat and How to Get Thin Forever) – see here.

 

A Day in my Food Diary

10 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by tackettcl12 in Food, weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, food, health, healthier living, healthy-living, lose weight, Losing Weight, nutrition, weight loss goals, weight-loss

It kills me when I see bloggers list what they eat and it’s so minimal. I mean it really kills me because I always want to say something. A few times I have, but instead I’m writing here today. I wrote about this once before. I titled it, “To lose weight, you have to eat!” It’s as simple as that. You can read that blog and my explanation of why we need to eat to lose weight by clicking HERE. Last night I saw a blogger list 5 small food items (just items, not a meal) and 1 glass of water and all I could think was “Nooooo!” And then I thought “Why!?” Eating less does lead to weight loss, yes. Eating nothing is just… bad, for lack of a more horrendous term.

  • Eating so little in a day is not realistic for long term success. As soon as you go back to eating a normal number of calories you’re going to gain the weight right back.
  • Eating such small amounts will leave you hungry. Being hungry isn’t sustainable because eventually you’re going to eat. When you do, you may be so hungry it increases your chances of making a bad choice or binge eating.
  • You are shutting down your metabolism.
  • You aren’t giving your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
  • The big one should be that starving sucks. I mean really, it just sucks and very likely it can be the reason for you quitting and losing the motivation you had to either be healthy or lose weight.

There are so many foods out there that we can eat that will keep us full, prevent hunger, and keep this weight off forever. I don’t even mean diet food. Foods that are fun, taste good, and that we may look forward to eating. If you eat things you enjoy you won’t feel deprived. If you don’t feel deprived, it won’t feel like a diet. And if you don’t look at your eating habits as a diet, you can continue with those changes forever which means any weight you lose won’t come back.

When I saw that blog last night I decided to include an example what I eat because it is not necessary to starve ourselves. It’s unhealthy and you’re actually setting yourself far back from the weight loss you could have if you just eat right.

So what I have below is my food diary from Tuesday. I was going to do yesterday but I had Panera Bread for dinner last night. I normally never eat out so I wanted to use an every day food diary. Am I perfect? NO, but I eat all day. I’m happy. I’m not depriving myself, and I’ve lost almost 70 pounds. Eating a normal, healthy diet in which I eat every 3 hours is sustainable. Does it take longer than starving yourself? Absolutely, but you know what? The weight I lose will not come back. So even if it takes me longer I will never have to repeat this process again and THAT is the point, right?

All of this is based on the calories within My Fitness Pal. My times are general ideas because it varies depending on my day. I am a late night snacker so I find that by eating dinner later in the day (5:30-7PM) I lose the tendency to want to snack in the evening. It is important to eat every few hours, generally 3, to keep your metabolism going strong.

Breakfast – usually 7:30-8:30AM

Omelet made up of:

Liquid Egg Whites, 6 tbsp – 50 cal

1 Egg – 92 cal

Hearty sausage turkey crumbles (1/4th cup) – 35 cal

2% mild cheddar shredded cheese (1/3 cup) – 80 cal

Spinach ½ cup – 8 cal

Mushrooms ¼ cup – 4 cal

1 raw medium tomato – 50 cal

That totals 319 calories.

I put mix the egg and egg whites in a cup to mix it up. Pour in a pan. Wait until it cooks a bit then add the vegetables, cheese, and turkey crumbles to one side. Then with a fork I loosen one side of the omelets and flip it over the side with the added veggies using a spatula. I like dicing the tomato and using a little for the omelet and then I have the rest of the tomato on the side. It is a healthy, hearty breakfast that will leave you full.

Snack: Usually 10:30-11AM

YoPlait Yogurt – 90 calories

Blueberries 1/3 cup – 28 calories

Raspberries 1/3 cup – 21 calories

That totals 139 calories.

Lunch: Usually 1:30-2:00

Boneless skinless chicken tenders, 4 ounces – 100 calories

Green beans ½ cup – 63 calories – Del Monte brand but I rinse very well before cooking

Chewy protein bar, fiber one caramel nut – 1 bar – 130 calories

That totals 293 calories.

To change up the chicken I sometimes add a dab of BBQ sauce or change the vegetable.

Snack: Usually 4:00-5:00

Apple – 72 calories

Peanut Butter 1.5 tbsp – 143 calories

That totals 215 calories

After workout protein shake:

Beverly International, 1 scoop – 120 Calories

Dinner: Usually 6:00-7:00

Chili – made up of beans, lean ground turkey meat, diced tomatoes, 1 cup  – 292 Calories

Carrots raw mini, 1 cup – 35 calories

That totals 327 calories.

TOTAL for the day: 1413 calories

9 cups of water —- I stress the water because we need to stay hydrated. You should have at least 8 cups of water a day. That’s 4 bottled waters (if they are 16 oz.). I’ve read to divide your weight in half. The number you are left with is how many ounces of water you need a day. So if you weigh 200 pounds you need 100 ounces of water, which would be 6 ½ bottled waters or 12 ½ cups.

I try to stay between 1400-1550 calories a day. This was a low day for me. Depending on the time I eat dinner, if I’m hungry after dinner, my go to snacks are:

  • Celery w/peanut butter
  • Apple w/peanut butter
  • Yogurt
  • Nuts
  • Berries
  • Graham cracker w/peanut butter
  • Flavor Ice Popcicle
  • Boiled egg – egg whites only no yolk
  • Tomato
  • Tangerines
  • Lunch meat
  • Trail mix
  • Dark chocolate, when I need candy. I never used to like this, but I like Doves Silky Smooth dark chocolate bar. The whole bar is 210 calories, but if you eat 1 piece it’s only 18 calories. So a few pieces to get your candy fix and you’re good.

It is important to never go below 1200 calories a day if you’re a woman and 1500 calories a day if you’re a man.

If you’re starting out on a diet begin with a higher calorie number. Stick with that number until you hit a wall and stop losing. Then adjust the number. It’s better to start with a higher number of calories and be comfortable lowering the number if you hit a wall than to start too low and have to go even lower.

Track your food. The app I use is called My Fitness Pal. It can be used as an app on your phone or tablet and you can also do it online. I love this app because it provides a breakdown of your nutrients. It has really helped me with paying attention to my carbs, sugar and sodium, and of course everything else but these three are a focus for me right now.

Ideas of how to eat healthy

20 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by tackettcl12 in Food

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Calories, eating healthy, fitness, food, grocery store, health, healthier living, healthy-living, lose weight, Losing Weight, motivation, my fitness pal, nutrition, weight loss goals, weight-loss

I was asked what I eat. I should have thought to include this myself but my mind was so wrapped around actual eating that I didn’t think to. So here we go!

I tend to eat a lot of the same foods. That’s mainly due to the fact that my cooking skills are limited but I don’t mind it because the options that I have are wide enough that I don’t get bored. When I do go looking for new foods I tend to fall back on Hungry Girl because she has a website full of recipes. I am coming to like Pinterest a lot now too for both food and fitness ideas.

I’m going to list below what I eat. You will find that I eat a lot of “normal” food. I think I’ve been successful with my weight loss because I don’t put as many limitations on what I can eat as you would think with a diet. Then again, I don’t consider this a diet but a lifestyle. That makes the changes I’m making realistic, doable, and changes that I can continue with forever.

There are 2 reasons I’m able to eat everything I always ate.

1) Practice portion control. If you like meatloaf and there are a lot of calories, do a small portion of meatloaf to keep you in the calorie range you want and add double the vegetables.

2) Find substitutions to make the calories less. For example, use 99% lean turkey instead of ground beef. Click here to check out a website that will give ideas for ways we can make healthier recipes.

I hope the list below gives an a good example of the limitless amount of food we can eat and still be healthy. Success will come from learning to look for options, better choices, and paying attention to the nutrition labels and serving sizes.

Breakfast:

  • Protein shake – I use Yor Health and I’ve used Beverly International UMP which is really good. It tastes like a chocolate cake shake – for real. I don’t have a lot of breakfast foods because often I rely on my protein shakes. It’s just easier and a time saver in the morning.
  • Omelette (my favorite over the last few days). 250 calories. 1 whole egg, 6 tbsp of liquid egg whites, ¼ cup of diced tomato, ¼ cup of hearty sausage crumbles, a pinch of cheese and spinach.
  • Cereal – I don’t eat this often because of the sugars. When I do, I tend to eat Cheerios. There are a lot of cereal options. Just stay away from the sugar cereals like Flintstones and Lucky Charms. Also measure your cereal so you are aware of your serving sizes. If you add fruit, add the fruit first so there will be more fruit and less cereal.
  • Oatmeal w/fruit – check for sugars in the nutrition guide to find a good option
  • 2 scrambled eggs, sometimes turkey bacon (a better substitute for turkey), and a piece of fruit
  • Fresh fruit – I often pair fruit up with peanut butter.
  • Yogurt is another option, but I admit I don’t eat yogurt very often.

Lunch/Dinner

I’m combining lunch and dinner because once a week I prepare my meals for the week. I usually do 2-3 depending on the time and what I’m cooking. I divide these meals into Tupperware and I eat on it all week. It is my go-to meal for lunch and dinner.

** Note that I’m not listing the vegetables, but with every meal I include a vegetable. And to make sure I’m full on the healthy stuff, I make sure at least half of my plate is a veggie.

  • Meatloaf – made with 99% lean turkey. I add spinach in mine.
  • Chili – made with 99% lean turkey, beans and diced tomatos
  • Baked chicken tenders and when I want to change it up I’ll add BBQ sauce
  • Pulled BBQ chicken. I’ll boil either a whole chicken or chicken tenders and then cut it up. I’ve also used “Member’s Mark Premium Chunk Chicken Breast” to make this and it’s very good. I get it at Kroger and it looks like a tuna can. It’s 98% fat free, 1.5 g fat, 70 calories for 1/3 cup. The entire can is 350 calories so that’s not bad to just add a little BBQ sauce to what’s in the can and eat it.
  • When I go out to dinner I tend to stick with 6 ounce steak or baked chicken. My side is a sweet potato or green beans.
  • If I have to rely on fast food I stick with Subway. I keep it to 6 inches, wheat, lots of veggies, and I don’t do cheese because I do light mayo instead. I either do one or the other.
  • Baked ziti – I made this the other night with 99% lean turkey, whole grain ziti pasta, regular spaghetti sauce because that’s all I had but the next time I may do only diced tomatos or something similar instead. I added spinach and shredded cheese. It amounted to 330 calories per cup. If I change up the sauce next time it could be less, but that goes back to finding better substitutions.
  • I like a dish made up of baked chicken tenders cut up into squares. Mix it with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I sometimes add in a little whole grain rice with it. The amount is good for the calories. Depending on how much chicken and rice you add it can be about 250 calories for anywhere from 1-2 cups.
  • Tacos – check the nutrition on the soft tortilla to find a good choice. If you want meat, try 99% lean turkey meat. I add in veggies, and a good substitute for any sauce or sour cream would be to use salsa. There are barely any calories in salsa. I use salsa as a salad dressing too sometimes.
  • Fish – I like tilapia so I eat that a lot. For one it’s about 100-130 calories. Salmon is really good for you, but I don’t care for it. If you do salmon is a great option.
  • Turkey sandwich – check the bread for the sugar and calories. I sometimes eat the deli meat just by itself with some string cheese.
  • Beef stew but I don’t add potatos. Instead it’s more like a beef veggie stew. I add carrots, celery, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, grean beans, diced tomatos, and then the beef.
  • Turkey wrap – just check for the best option of the wrap. I add a little chicken or turkey deli meat, lettuce, and cream cheese.

Snacks

  • Fruit of every kind. I am a sweets person so I used fruit as a substitute for that.
  • I pair up peanut butter with some of my snack fruit. Like a banana or an apple with peanut butter.
  • Veggies – I prepackage carrots, celery, cut up tomatos, cucumbers, etc and I put them in baggies in the fridge. So when I need a snack I can just grab the baggie out of the fridge.
  • Nuts
  • String cheese
  • Whole grain wheat pretzel sticks – I don’t think that’s the name of them and I don’t have any at the moment to compare to. But if you can figure out what I mean they are very good. Not normal salty pretzels, but they are wheat and sticks if that helps.
  • Flavor ice popcicles – only 25 calories
  • Graham cracker w/ a little peanut butter
  • Kellogg wheat crackers – 24 for I think 130 calories or something around that amount
  • Half a peanut butter sandwich. Or a whole one, but I’m trying to stay away from bread so lately I’ve done half. Check your jelly’s nutrition guide for the sugars.
  • Granola bar although I don’t eat them as much anymore. I’d rather have fruit.

If you are looking for a good food tracker try My Fitness Pal. You can do so online through their website or by the app on your smartphone.

To lose weight you have to eat!

20 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by tackettcl12 in Food, weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, exercise, health, healthier living, healthy-living, Losing Weight, metabolism, motivation, nutrition, Starvation Mode, weight loss goals, weight-loss

I love reading the blogs of other people. People who remind me that the overall goal will happen if I keep working because they already reached theirs. People who are just starting because then I get to watch them completely change their lives. People who help others for a living because then I get great tips about food and exercise. Last night I came across a weight loss blog where the writer regularly includes what he is eating and I realized he is not eating enough. Reading his blog has inspired this one.

I think the number one mistake people make when they decide to lose weight is to stop eating. I can see that it makes sense to do that. I mean, eat less… lose weight. I get the mentality, but it is wrong. To lose weight, we need to eat. I will explain why.

There are 2 major concerns with not eating enough. One is that it completely shuts down our metabolism. The second is that it puts our bodies into starvation mode.

 1)      Metabolism

Our metabolism is the powerhouse of our bodies. It converts the fuel in the food we eat to the energy needed to power everything we do so that our body can maintain itself. Whether you are exercising, sleeping or eating, your body is constantly using energy and burning calories to keep you going. Our metabolism speeds up and slows down based on the food we eat and exercise we do.

In a nutshell, the higher the metabolism the easier it is for you to lose weight.

Picture a campfire. You go to sleep and while you are sleeping the fire gradually dies out. When you get up the next morning you need to get the fire going again. To do that, you add logs. If you throw a ton of logs all at once, the fire will die out because you smothered it. If you add logs slowly to the fire, it will blaze.

Our metabolism works the same way. When we go to bed our metabolism slows down. Your metabolism will not start blazing again until you eat. This is why they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you skip breakfast and wait until lunch to eat, you are wasting hours without your metabolism working at its peak.

As I said above, to lose weight you have to eat! People may think when they skip meals that they are doing a good thing because you’re saving the calories, right? WRONG. You are hurting your metabolism by skipping meals.

So what should you do? You should eat every 3-4 hours. Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner. Picture yourself adding logs to the fire to keep it blazing. You don’t need a feast or an ‘all you can eat.’ Just eat smaller portions and eat throughout the day.

2)      Starvation Mode

Lose weight = eat less + move more. There is no need to take that to the extreme by starving ourselves. There are so many articles out there with different opinions about starvation mode that it becomes a headache to truly understand.

Before I get into what I understand about it, please note I’m not a doctor or a professional so I am only sharing what I come to know through my own research and what makes sense. The internet is free… explore it and come to your own conclusion.

That said, my understanding of starvation mode is that it exists and it is very, very, very (did I mention VERY?) bad! It can hinder our weight loss and slow our metabolism and overall it’s just not necessary.

Starvation mode is caused by drastically cutting our calories. There are different theories for how little is too little, but a common number is 50%. So starvation mode can be caused by cutting calories to less than 50% of what our bodies require per day and doing this over an extended period of time (weeks and/or months).

Note it says over periods of time. If you’re sick for a few days and simply too ill to eat that will not cause starvation mode. If you are busy at work and miss lunch that will not cause starvation mode. However, as noted above you should avoid skipping meals because it hurts your metabolism. Now, if you’re dieting and purposely not eating or eating very little that can cause starvation mode and this is bad for several reasons.

1)      Eating too few calories is not sustainable. Weight loss takes time. We need changes to our everyday diet that we can handle because what happens when you get to your goal weight? You will go back to your old habits and gain that weight back. The changes we make now have to be lifestyle changes. Changes we can continue even after we meet our goals. What happens too when you are starving and it becomes too much? Then you may quit your diet altogether.

2)      Nutrient intake – our bodies need a certain amount of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals every day to support normal body functions. Not having those nutrients can lead to serious health issues that is so complex I won’t even get in to.

3)      We need energy. It is important to consume enough calories that you have energy to perform the daily activities you want to and stay healthy. The point of losing weight is to be happier and to be able to live again. The goal is not to starve ourselves to the point of malnutrition and have so little energy we can’t do anything.

4)      Some say, and this goes back to the different theories, that starvation mode can lead to our bodies storing fat because our body thinks it is starving. This goes hand in hand with losing muscle not fat. As muscle burns up to 90% more calories than fat, losing muscle is a bad thing.

5)      Some say that starvation mode slows our metabolism down. I’ve read others say that’s not the case and that metabolism was slowed in studies because the people weren’t working out. Regardles, a person with a slower metabolism will lose weight at a slower pace than that of a person with a metabolism functioning normally.

6)      Any kind of starvation can harm our bodies. An extreme starvation, such as anorexia, can result in brain damage and organ failure. Organ failure occurs when there is a shortage of essential fatty acids and amino acids that our bodies cannot produce. These are provided by the food we eat.

7)      After eating very little number of calories over time, when you go back to a normal diet you will likely (very, very likely) gain the weight back.

All in all, starving ourselves is not necessary. When I saw the blogger list his foods, it made me sad because I can see the struggle in that. Again, that struggle is NOT necessary.

If I’ve learned anything over the last year it is that this is a life change not a diet. You cannot expect to diet, lose weight, get to your goal weight, and go back to your old habits without gaining the weight back. Why not just cut that cycle by learning how to eat and live healthy so that the weight we lose doesn’t come back? Yes it may be a longer process, but do it right the first time and you won’t have to repeat it. Any quick fixes are usually not good for you and often don’t work anyway.

What does work is a healthy diet, exercise, portion control, and knowingly making good choices every day.

As I said above, I’m not a doctor, a trainor, or a nutritionist. I just know what works for me. I have been able to lose over 60 pounds and keep it off and I eat all day every day. I don’t consider this a diet. A diet you eventually stop. I don’t feel deprived from the foods I try to stay away from because I’m never hungry. Instead, I feel full of life and that is why I started this blog. I want others to find that it can be just as easy. Start here: Water, Exercise, Eat Healthy. It is that simple.

Back to the basics – eat right & exercise

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

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Calories, eating healthy, fitness, health, healthier living, healthy-living, lose weight, Losing Weight, my fitness pal, nutrition, weight loss goals, weight watchers, weight watchers points, weight-loss

I had a bit of an epiphany today. Why is it that we try to fix something that isn’t broke? I was losing weight just fine and then I started trying different things and going back and forth on others. Today I realized this is ridiculous and I’m complicating something that is not complicated. So I’m going back to the basics. Eat right and exercise. That’s it. No pill. No magic plan. Eat right. Exercise. Sometimes it’s better to keep things simple.

I went to the doctor this morning to have blood drawn. I want my thyroid tested. I don’t think I have a thyroid problem because I’ve lost weight just fine, but it runs in my family so better to get it tested and just know. Really I just wanted a check up. I only go to the doctor when I’m in extreme enough pain that I can’t function. So it’s time to get checked out because the last time I went was for an ear infection and the time before that I was pregnant, which was like 3 or 4 years ago.

I requested my doctor check me for diabetes since they were drawing blood anyway. I am a little concerned with this because I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. That increases your risk of having diabetes later. It’s a good thing I’ve lost weight, but I’m still considered obese so I am concerned about being a diabetic. I’ll be the first to admit sugar is an addiction for me so that doesn’t help. I guess I shall see in about 24 hours.

In talking to my doctor about my weight loss he recommended I go down to a 1200 calorie a day diet. I’m torn on this because my cousin, who is a nutritionist, said not to do that. So I don’t know. I don’t want to lose weight at a 1200 calorie day diet and then stop losing and have to go lower. Every book I’ve read on health says not to go below 1200. I went back to Weight Watchers too so I don’t even count calories. So now I’m tempted to go back to My Fitness Pal and continue with calorie counting. Maybe if I start at 1500 calories and work down as I lose. I need to do some research online.

My Facebook page, Operation Skinny & Fit

06 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by tackettcl12 in weight loss

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before and after, before and after pictures, Body cleanse, breakfast, build muscle, Calories, carbs, detox, eating healthy, exercise, Facebook, fat, fitness, food, goals, grocery store, health, healthier living, healthy-living, itrackbites, Jackie Warner, metabolism, motivation, my fitness pal, positivity, This is why you're fat, weight loss goals, weight watchers, weight watchers points, weight-loss, wwdiary, YOR Health

My sister has joined with me as an admin in my Facebook page, which is called Operation Skinny & Fit. I feel she and I are a good team. I’m great with food and knowing what to eat. She’s great with fitness motivation. Between the two of us I think we’re a pretty good package. If you’re looking for more food ideas and/or fitness tips check us out. 🙂

Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OperationSkinnyandFit

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