Calories...the secrets they don't tell you

Today I think we are gonna talk about the fuel that makes us run...calories.  We need these little things to make sure we can do what we gotta do to make our little world go round.  Not only do we need them but too few can hurt just as bad as too many.  Before I started this post I did some reading and some wtf-ing.  Here is what I learned according to one website I should only consume 1900 calories a day.  Now when I calculate my BMR just sitting in bed doing nothing I am burning 2019.4 calories.  What....sitting still just breathing and pushing remote buttons I am burning almost 120 more calories that it is recommended I eat.  I see a problem here.  Let's do a mommy day break down of calorie burning according to the fancy calculator from Web Md:

Childcare for 12 hours:  4544 calories burned
Light Cleaning (we all do some kind of housework a day) 1 and a half hours:  473 calories
Cooking and food prep 3 hours (one hour a meal):  760 calories
Watching TV (we get a chance every once and a while) 1 and a half hours:  190 calories
Sleeping (yes we even get to included this) 7 hours: 794 calories

So we BURN in just normal day to day stuff 6761 calories and we haven't even begun to talk about running errands.  But based on these numbers....I am burning 4861 more calories then I am supposed to be in taking.  I am using one of the nifty free websites to track food, water in take, and how much exercise I get in a day...actual exercise.   In a normal day of housework and exercising I can burn 2400 calories.  I take in around 1800-2000 calories a day and I feel good.

But lets go back to the start where people say I am dieting and most people drop to 1500 calories right away.  Here is the problem.....if you drop that low right away you are gonna put your body into shock and find it harder to stay on track.  Why you ask?  Because you are gonna be hungry so hungry in fact that it is gonna take a lot more then will power to stop from raiding the kitchen.  Well wait isn't the point of dieting to cut calories and burn more?  Yes it is but let's think back to the earlier figure of 6761 calories burnt in a day. Your body is used to doing this on a scale of 3000-4000 calories a day.  Dropping that many that fast only leads to not feeling good but feeling sick.  Headaches, muscle aches, and all around just blah.  Not to mention that I know as a fat ass when I don't get to eat I am cranky.  So here is the plan...drop calories slowly.  Week one of the diet....cut from 4000 to 3000.  Just like exercise and slowly working into a regular workout (which is another story we will get to) you have to retrain your body to run on a smaller amount of calories one week at a time.  As the weeks progress your calorie intake shrinks and OMG out of the blue your body can function on a 1500-1900 calorie intake and no one around you suffers.

Moral of the story you don't run your car on a tank of gas that is almost empty....you can't run your body on one either.  Cut back your calories slowly and safely.

Happy Dieting

BMI...bullshit meter idiots

So I have already stated I am starting a weight loss journey once again....fun stuff but got to do it.  I am an Army Wife I have a standard to uphold...bullshit.  I want to be able to chase after my daughter without getting winded but I digress.  The topic of today's discussion is the BMI calculator.  Doctors call it the Body Mass Index....I prefer bullshit meter idiot.  This is simply a chart that they look at weight and height and the paper tells them how much you should weigh.  Now wait a minute here is my thought does this piece of paper take into account the bone structure, the muscle mass, and the overall look of  person...not quite.  That piece of paper can't see all that and doctors put too much stock into that piece of paper.  I have actual proof of it...not once but twice I have been told by doctors they can not help me, my BMI is too high.  The first time was while pregnant the hospital I had been receiving care at for over half of my pregnancy at 7 and 1/2 months told me I would have to go to a hospital 45 minutes away.....over a bridge and through the woods literally. I have my daughter bring her home resume regular care at the clinic 5 minutes away and  it was discovered I have precancerous cells that need to come out.  Great schedule pre-op, surgery set, I am going to get this taken care of and low and behold my BMI is too high again, back to grandma's house we go.  Both situations little important and their choice is to send me on a scavenger hunt for care.  Based on a piece of paper.  Yes I know I need to lose weight...I am a fat ass.  Have been since I was 17....but to be black balled for medical care wow.  Here is the complete kicker neither doctor has offered any weight loss advice or referred me to a nutritionist.  They can't get me out of the office fast enough.

So what do we do about the BMI?  I read mine at the goal weight I am trying to hit...195.  I will still be overweight.  I know someone who is a size six and according to the paper, she is overweight.  So I have to go anorexic for this piece of paper to tell me I am normal weight.  NOT happening. I am losing weight to be healthy not trade one problem for another.  My suggestion is this.....lose what weight you want but when your cheek bones are protruding, people are sending your picture in for the feed the children ads, and stick of gum is what you consider lunch...stop.  You have now lost too much weight.

So the moral of all of this is simply do not pay complete attention to the BMI scale pay attention to how your body looks and how you feel.  And if a doctor starts complaining about the BMI...ask him his suggestions on what to do and how to do it.

dieting 2.0

So I have been dieting off and on since the spring of 2011. I lost 30 lbs and was doing great...the along came baby I put the 30 back on and now that she is 3 months old I am seriously working on doing this again. I am down 4 lbs so, so far so good. But here is my thing....dieting needs to be revamped. I here this all the time you are dieting, no MacDonald's, no sweets, no this, that, or the other thing. Drink water till you can count the walk back and forth to the bathroom as a part of your workout and above all else cut your calorie intake so low you are almost burning more than you are eating. I heard all this mess for months when I first started that my ears were bleeding. STOP, seriously speaking dieting needs a reboot as bad as some of the 80's horror movies. So here is my thought on the whole dieting craze.... 
1. Be smart....It took a lot of time to put this weight on we are not gonna take it off in a matter of weeks. Cut your calories but make sure you are not going drastic with cutting. If it was taking well over 3000 calories a day to maintain your weight if you cut to 1500 right away you are gonna make yourself sick. Try cutting a 1000 at first give your body time to adjust to the shock that it will be getting more carrots then candy. 

2. Every thing in moderation.... exercise included. The body is not used to doing the last chance workout so we need to work into it. If for the first few weeks all you can handle is 20 minutes do the 20 minutes and slowly increase how long you Zumba across the living room. 

3. Food is not the enemy, not our friend, but not the enemy. So you had a rough day and broke down and had that candy bar. Not the end of the world. The key again goes back to number 2...moderation. If you had that one candy bar, okay tomorrow will be better but if you ate the box of costcosnickers bars maybe you are putting to much stress on your head about having to be skinny. 

4. Surround yourself with people who are supportive and who will not sugar coat the whole trip you are taking. The ones that will tell you, yes you look great and you have been working hard at this but you still have some ways to go. Why you ask? They keep you motivated...I know in my case when people start noticing I have lost weight...shoot I am done. Not always the case...but now that people say I look good, my motivation starts wavering. Where as when I am around those that say you look great but I bet you will look better I strive for the better. 


5. Get yourself a visual motivator.....I have a pair of Dahlia Flare leg Jeans that were given to me and they are where I want to put my butt...4 sizes smaller. They hang in the closet and I know one of these days I will get them on past my thighs. It doesn't have to be something expensive visit a thrift store and find something in the size you want to be and go for it. 

Finally 

6. This is your weight loss journey, not society's, not your family's, and definitely not your doctors. The only way this works is if you do this for you. Yeah the compliments from everyone are great, but losing weight for them just makes for an ingredient in a recipe of resentment. Like the newscaster said....I am not a number on a scale. Society does not know what we have been through to get to this point. My favorite thing to tell people who mention my weight....I was 389 lbs at 17. I took off 100 lbs and have kept it off for 15 years. I will lose this last 78 and be a very happy and healthy 200 lb woman. Yeah to some that is not ideal and I am still 60 lbs outside of the fancy chart the dr keeps, but my bone structure, muscle mass, and all around me would look sick any smaller then that. So remember this is your weight loss journey....do it your way on your time table, no one else. 

Hope you enjoyed the read...