Free Online Health

Thought I'd start one of these to keep me honest.I don't want to kid myself that I am doing well if I'm not.I don't want to allow myself any excuses,any reason to give up.So I'm going to try and keep this up as a record of my journey of self improvement.

As a busy mum of 5 ,there's always something/someone else that needs attention.There's always an excuse not to keep up the exercise or put in the effort to change my lifestyle,but I can't do it anymore.If I don't make the changes NOW,I never will and I fear being afflicted with some awful health issue that won't allow me to achieve my goals in the time frame I have set myself.

Anyway...Monday was the big start for me.I weighed myself(103 kilos) and embarked on a promise to use my treadmill each day and to keep my food intake in the 'healthy' category and to drink more water!For now,I will weigh myself every Monday.One day soon,I should take my measurements too I guess.

I have managed over the past 4 days to walk 3 times.My first walk was:

2km,30 minutes(incl a 5 min warm up/warm down),I burned off 90 calories and listened to 8 Shannon Noll songs!His song 'Drive' is a fantastic song to walk to BTW!

Didn't walk the next day as my hip was a bit sore due to Osteoarthritis.My hips must have been a bit shellshocked!

Wednesdays walk was about the same as Monday's. Instead of Shannon Noll,I had Casey Chambers(hmmm,no accounting for taste..I used to like it,but couldn't reach the desk to change cd's!)Really must remember the kids' ipod's in future!Must buy myself one infact!

Today(as in Thursday) I walked again and this time did :

3.3 kms,41 minutes,163 calories.Treadmill speed was 5kms ph,which just about had me at a slow jog a few times!

I have been writing down ALL my food in my diary at home and then checking it on Calorie King(which I heard about here),just to see if my food is on track! Happy to find I have been doing well,although yesterday I struggled to eat enough calories.

I think it worked out on my profile that I should be on 1200 calories?I only ate about 800.I know it's not good to do that,as we need all our calories for energy,right!?

Someone else told me about an American site (sparkpeople) which is similar to Calorie King.The good thing is it's totally free,so you don't have to pay a membership to use their food diaries etc.However it doesn't have our 'aussie foods' and brands so prob isn't as user friendly as CK!

I hope that I can just use the knowledge I have to eat well without having to add up my calories all the time,as it's time consuming and bound to put me off....plus if I have to devote time to another website,along with other online communities I belong to,then I'll never make it out of the computer chair!!

Foodwise,I have been snacking on a handful of Trailmix or almonds,rather than cheese/dips/crackers(my weakness) and staying away from chocolate for now! God knows when that horrible witch PMT calls around,she'll have me running for the choccie,so I'll resist the temptation for now.I refuse to buy it,as I cannot trust myself!

Been eating a good brekkie(Fruity bix,yogurt,blueberries)-or scrambled eggs and having tuna/salads/sandwiches for lunch and have had fish and salad or chicken for dinner and have really been watching my portion sizes.  Dragged out my 'Symply Too Good To Be True' cookbooks for some new lowfat ideas and made a lemon fish dish last night.Very scrummy.

Tonight we had vegeroni pasta with a tomato sauce.Must run my food thru CK before bed to check that one out!

I'll always remember what a Weight Watchers lecturer said to me a few years ago.

When you've had a good day/week,you don't have to do anything different...you just have to do it again.

Tomorrow is another day and I *know* I can do it again.

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

LaLa:

Tomorrow is another day and I *know* I can do it again.

Well done, LaLa. That's the attitude I need. Can I borrow yours please? hehe

Cheers
Michelle

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Small steps, small rewards, slowly does it.

Thanks Michelle.I need all the attitude I can get right now,so can't give any away...but just keep checking into these forums for motivation! So many awesome people here:)

Well,today,I did do it again . I walked on the treadmill for 42 minutes.I don't want to go in too hard,as I don't want to bugger up my dodgy joints.

Ate well today(or so I thought) then I ran it thru CK,found I had gone up to @1400 cals today!

I was trying to stick to @1200...so Ooops!

This calorie thing is new to me.I have counted WW points,I have counted 'fat' grams..but never calories.It's a bit hit and miss as some things I find are a bit of a guess if they are not in the menu on CK.

Today I was out shopping with my dd and did heaps of walking around the shopping centre! OMG,my feet were so sore(hmmm...perhaps I *did* burn off those extra cals afterall!

Then it was time for lunch!! Not wanting to ruin my good week so far,I was thinking about just *what* I could eat that wouldn't put me in the red,so to speak! Wanting to avoid the cafe and it's smells of yummy hot chips,I settled on Muffin Break and had a Turkey/Cranberry wrap with a skinny Latte.Dd had a MB kids pack.I dunno..it seemed a better choice than Donut King!LOL

Tonight I checked out TBL contestant's website's.I was very impressed with Ruth's.She has so much info on there including recipes,pics,her training schedule and gossip from TBL!

She mentioned on there that she eats every 4 hours and never eats carbs after lunch.

So,on that note...just *what* do people eat for snacks etc.

I'm sticking to a banana,or vege sticks,leb cucumber,fruit....and also sticking to either fish/lean beef/chicken for dinner with lots of steamed veges or salad.

I'm thinking my kids are going to get pretty sick of that for dinner soon,so might have to change tack next week.

Oh...and I have been upping the water as well! Only prob is my Woolworths bladder ,LOL

Tip#1 Always go to the loo before you leave home!(public toilets stink!!!!!!!

 

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

Today I walked 3.5kms in 41 minutes.Yesterday it was 3.3 kms in the same time and the time before that it was 2kms in 30 minutes!. Gosh,I am making progress!LOL

Today's little effort burned off 158 calories.Now I've just been reading thru old threads and found that you to be burning at least 4000 Cals per day(or something along those lines?) Anyway...slowly but surely wins the race doesn't it?...so I am going to build up my fitness slowly so I don't overdo it.

I used to walk around 6 kms a day,so I know I can get back to that again soon.

I have been aiming to stick to around 1200 cals per day and doing well at that.

Brekkie- 2 eggs scrambled with hi/low milk/  2 rice cakes/green tea

Lunch- 210 gms pink salmon/1 tortilla wrap/2 cups mixed salad(lettuce,caps,cucum.tomato/green tea/6 rice crackers

Dinner- This piece of steak the size of my palm/3 mushrooms/lots of salad greens/tom/cucum/caps/peppermint tea

 

Haven't had any snacks today.Found I wasn't hungry,so didn't need to.

Must run my meals thru CK to check out today's offerings,LOL

I know it's only early days...and I have always found lots of excuses to give up on myself,but this time..I just feel different.It feels like something has just clicked...and I'm no longer willing to give myself an out. I can't do it to myself any longer.Plus I have the added bonus of finding this site and the wonderful wealth of support and knowledge.

I will be a much better and nicer person which will benefit more ppl than just *me*,so primarily I have to do this for myself,but there's a teeny part of me that needs to prove it to my family as well, that I WILL do this and I WON'T make any more excuses!!

           Edited to add-  Hmmm,factoring in my 41 minutes of walking,I figured I ate @1020 cals today. (is that bad?)

Most days I have been on or around 1200,but today I perhaps should have added a banana or something.

 

 

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

Just some help with the maths

Its said theres about 3600 calories per pound ==> 7900 per kilo fat. 

If you ate ate maintenance and exercised 4000 cals per day = 28000 excercise cals per week.

Mathematically you would lose about 3.5kg per week

Ive never worked it out, but I read somewhere that you use about 100 cals per mile when walking, thats alot-o-miles

Anyhow, back to our home planet.......

In my humble opinion, it is better is to aim for a average deficit of about 1100 per day, which includes dietry deficit ( from basal ) and exercise. Theoretically this will give you 1 kilo per week, with a little more hope of sustainability.

 

Thought I'd come into to say welcome and say what a great job you're doing.  I've been doing WW and then wanted a change, so thought I'd count calories.  Seemed to overwhelming so I've gone back to WW. 

Keep up the great work.

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~ Phi ~



Always Improve.
Always Evolve.
Never Give Up.

Thanks Morgan.While I'm not yet anywhere near using up 4000 cals p.day with exercise,I hope to after my fitness level increases.I'm just working on walking for 40 min a day at the moment.

I wouldn't aim for more than 1 kilo per week...though I wouldn't scoff at more,LOL

I'll just be happy to be losing it and not gaining or staying the same.

I'm only burning @160 cals during my 40 min walk atm(as sad as that sounds,LOL)...but I'm working on it :)

*edited to add*..not to mention all the other calories I burn off during the day.Busy mum and all that,LOL

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

heh not many burn 4000 per day, maybe Lance Armstrong on the Tour that would be about all

aim for 1000 deficit :)

Hey thanks for the welcome Bondi girl

I did do WW for over a year.I was totally in denial..going to WW and then getting KFC for dinner on the way home.I think I was trying to 'think myself thin' rather than actually doing it properly. I think my brain figured that as I was going to WW, I must be a good girl! LOL

WW kept changing their programs,so alot of the ladies I knew there stopped going after a while.

Yes, I not sure about this calorie counting either!I'm using the free trial at Calorie King for now to count my cals.After that...not sure(think you have to pay a membership?)

Perhaps I'll just use my years of knowledge after being on this weightloss merry-go-round quite a few times before...and just trust in myself...or am I kidding myself???

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

m0rgan:

heh not many burn 4000 per day, maybe Lance Armstrong on the Tour that would be about all

You mean hanging out 4 extra large loads of washing every day just won't cut it!?!?

aim for 1000 deficit :)

Ummmm??? please explain

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

hehe nooo 4000 is lots!

with the 1100 daily deficit

work out what your basal rate is ( dont gain, dont lose calorie intake ), there are plenty of calculators around on the net to help

then apply some combination of cutting food intake and exercising to make 1100 a day, you should then lose a kilo per week

 

answering bondi girl and the weight watches thing

basic WW is a good plan, except maybe the lack of focus on protein and some core rules about vegetable intake. I absolutely agree that WW change their plans too much and confuzzle everyone

Calorie king does what you need for free, just put its info into a spreadsheet or use fitday

 

Ok,so going on the BMR calc,my BMR is 1749. If I ate 1200 calories a day and burnt...ohhh, I dunno 1000 cals a day atm...how does that work?

hmmm,maths was never my forte!

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SW-104.3 (April 06)
CW- TBA
GW-65 kgs

~*It's not rocket science...eat less,move more!!*

*If you do what you always do, you'll get what you always got*

You are right on it, I think your maths is better than you admit, by the end of this post you will be sorry you asked tho!

There are two ways to work it out, we can do the hard one first

so looking at some daily figures

bmr =  1750  and you ate 1200 , gives you a deficit of 550

If you got a little motivated and burnt 550 cals ontop, you add this up

And by  magic you are in a 1100 deficit, do this for a week and you should be 1kg lighter

 

with me still?   now heres an easier way

The other way is to use the bmr calcs that build in a exercise component ( harris bennidict ) its kind of a fudge figure. These equations are also used in medicine to work out how much to feed differently injured people

so if you are this person

1. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

Then your total daily burn is 2360 cals per day ( ie 1750 basal + 610 exercise )

Eat those same 1200 calories and you will be in deficit 1160 calories, and get the same kilo per week loss

Coincidentally the calories = 7 x bodyweight  ( in lbs ) formula gives you a close answer too

 

The maths is one of those things you really do once to work out where you should be in terms of intake and usage, after that the real task comes of actually getting those numbers more days than you dont

 

heres a link to bmr and harris bennidict

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

just one thing to add

when Ray talks about the magical aim of 1200 calories per day...this is where it all came from