My unofficial game plan to getting my life on the healthy track :)

I've always challenged myself to live by this simple principle: If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you feel about it.

One thing I'd like to change is my health. I want to eat right and exercise regularly-- not just drag myself to the gym or force veggies down my throat, but truly have an active lifestyle.

I recently joined a sand volleyball league with some girls from school. It has been a blast, but also very eye opening! I am ridiculously out of shape if I find it difficult to keep up in a recreational sport that is contained to a very small space (it's not like I tried to join a soccer league!). I am also getting back into the gym. I know that weight training is important, but I'm not usually sure what to do. I may take my gym up on the free consultant/sales pitch with a trainer or may just use websites and friends for information.

My diet has been comprised primarily of fast food and junk food. I have challenged myself (for health and budget reasons) to limit restaurant eating. I have stocked my cubicle with lots of primarily healthy food to keep me from being tempted and am doing better than I thought.

I am between 5'6" and 5'7" and as of yesterday, I weighed 185 lbs. My BMI states that I am mildly overweight; however, before my 24th birthday, those stats said that I was moderately overweight. Regardless, not where I want to be!

Based on these stats, CC divulges the following:

BMI: 29 (healthy is between 18.5 and 24)

Daily Caloric Expenditure: 1950

Calories needed for goal weight of 135:

You should consume about 1,446 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 135 lbs This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by June 11, 2010.

Calories needed for goal weight of 145:

You should consume about 1,446 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 145 lbs This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by April 02, 2010.

Calories needed for goal weight of 155:

You should consume about 1,446 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 155 lbs This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by January 22, 2010.

I have not decided what goal weight to use. 135 was my weight in high school. 155 was my weight before I injured myself skydiving 3 summers ago. It is really not about a number. It is about feeling and being healthy. I am so sluggish and know that this is a byproduct of not treating my body right. (eating junk, living a primarily sedentary life, not sleeping enough, etc)

I also have not decided if a deficit is really the answer. I know from reading on CC and other sites that one pound is 3500 calories and a 500-1000 deficit is recommended. I also know that I tried eating 1450 calories and didn't last long. Partially because I am still learning about nutrition and didn't set it up correctly as far as the ratio of proteins, fats, carbs go. Additionally, I know that for the last several years, I have been eating far more than 1950 calories per day. There were probably days that one meal was more than my daily burn estimate. This leads me to believe that I'm not as sedentary as I think or I would have gained weight much faster. 

THUS, my game plan:

 

• For 2-3 weeks, eat reasonably and log every bite. 
• If my daily caloric intake is higher than 1950, start by cutting to my maintenance calories of 1950. Focus on eating the RIGHT foods more than less food. Balance my diet to include more veggies, fruit, fish, etc by focusing on eating less processed food and significantly reducing fast food.
• After I've established healthier eating habits and have eaten only 1950/day for 2-3 weeks, consider introducing a deficit based on my results. 

 

The first week was pretty eye opening. Even with my attempt at eating healthy and portion control, my numbers were higher than I expected.

• Monday: 2437
• Tuesday: 2284
• Wednesday: 3904
• Thursday: 2940
• Friday: 1307 (only 7pm- haven't eaten dinner yet)

Other small changes I am committed to implementing:

• Taking the stairs at work. Sad, but true: 4 flights of stairs is quite a workout!
• Walk on at least one break. Even if it is just around the block, it keeps me awake, improves my mood and forces me to climb 4 flights of stairs! :)
• Water: 64 ounces a day

On July 6, I am going to a free health screening to learn about my general health including cholesterol, blood sugar, body fat %, etc. This will be a nice starting point to know my general health as a reference point. Okay, whew. That was a lot to type, but I wanted to put some commitments in print and possibly get some feedback from the lovely cc community. I'm off to find a healthy dinner. Enjoy your weekend!

 

Wow - when you said plan, you meant it!  Good for you - sounds very reasonable and sustainable.

Some recommendations: 

• Try making just one or two healthy changes a week so you are not overwhelmed or deprived feeling.  Try vegetables with light dressing instead of potato chips, etc.
• Don't commit too strongly to a goal weight - you don't really know how you will look or feel until you get there.
• Be sure that you are not "giving up" things, just being smarter about them.

Good luck!

I want to agree, writing it down, setting some reasonable goals, and moderating, not eliminating will help bring you success. You're on the right track!

God bless!

Original Post by puh8suwrux:

Wow - when you said plan, you meant it!  

hahahaha, good call. Probably too much to share in the forums, but I just had to get that all out there so that I will officially commit. Thanks for the encouragement and the tips! I definitely agree with you on the goal weight thing. I posted this is weight loss, but it is not entirely about that for me. I really just want to be able to be active and treat my body right, but I know that starts with getting in a healthy weight range. 

Thanks, blessedak! Best of luck to you as well. 

Also impressed at the extent of the plan, good job. :) What makes me wonder a bit is why the numbers on the first week go up instead of down, maybe you should have been slowly improving already. Is it stressing you out that you are logging everything? Because at this rate even the jump to maintenance calories is bound to get more difficult. You should already be including more veggies, granted, in small steps, but still you don't want to make such a sudden jump, because then you'll be more likely to get discouraged and give up.

Good luck!

ily, you guessed it. logging has been stressing me out, but also I got McDonald's for breakfast on Wednesday and after my volleyball game, I just kept eating and eating. Thursday was my sister's bridal shower so I had cake, etc.

Yesterday was the first day I actually made my maintenance calories & ended up eating 1947 :-)

I didn't have a completely healthy day so I know it is possible to introduce a deficit once I am consistently eating 1950. 

Still not where I want to be but definitely more encouraging than nearly twice that.

The reason why I decided to not jump right into a deficit is because I would literally be cutting my calories in half from what I typically eat and I know that won't last long. Also, I think it is helpful to be aware of what my food choices "cost" if I were eating with a 1450-1950 budget. I would have never guessed that a personal pan pizza is 881 calories! Or that my entire turkey sandwich with spinach, tomato and mustard is only 290. Having this data, even though it is not good news will help me make better choices and have the numbers to back up why it is so important.

Last night, I went to the store and bought some cucumbers, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, a cantaloupe, etc. I love produce, but usually buy it and let it rot. My goal is to buy my produce for the week.

Thanks for the encouragement and you're right, baby steps are going to make more of a life long improvement!

Awesome start, meltydawne!  Make sure you message me if you need support - I'm addicted to CC so I'm here a lot.

go for it!  Woot!  Woot!  do it YOUR way.  do it however works best for you.  just don't make any changes that you can't live with forever.  do NOT make this a diet.  seriously, change your lifestyle.  it's not that hard & the changes do NOT have to be drastic.

i lost 90 pounds.  i am 5'7" & i went from 218 to 128.  i've been maintaining at 134 for almost a year now.  it's so cool, because i never even dieted!  WooHoo!!!  i just made a few changes.  changes i can live with.  :D

do it!  just do it & don't let anyone stop you.  it's YOUR life & not theirs.  you control what you eat & if you exercise or not.  YOU are the boss & there is NO cheating.  hehe  you're always there!  don't bother hiding to eat or anything silly like that. 

now, get out there & make me proud!!!  i want to see that 135 on you.  ;)  oh, and never drop ANY of the foods you love.  just have them in moderation.

Congratulations on your success, snowfence! That is awesome that you not only conquered your weight, but did it in a healthy way that you can still live with! 

Also, thanks for the encouragement!

This is a little harder than I expected. I thought that as long as I wasn't shooting for a deficit and being generally aware of what I eat, along with making healthier choices (water instead of coke, eating in versus eating out, more fruits & veggies, less junk food) that I'd be able to hit maintenance calories fairly easily. Not so much! I will get there though...