My 12 Steps to a Healthier Happier ME!! (REPOST)
Nov 13 2007 08:42

using caloriecount.about.com

1) take before pictures... i know you may not want to.. i hated mine.. but do it.. you will be glad you did

2) take before measurements... you want measurements of your neck, breast, chest (right below the breasts), natural waistline (narrowest part), widest part of your waist, widest part of your hips, widest part of dominate thigh, widest part of dominant calf, and your wrist... these will show you what that scale sometimes wont..

3) take those measurements and go here .. this will give your body fat index... this can also help show you what that scale sometimes wont...

4) DRINK LOTS OF WATER..  half your body weight in oz..  so you weigh 134 you should be drinking AT LEAST 67 oz of water.. and add an 8 oz glass for each half hour of exercise you do.

5)definitely take advantage of the free tools that calorie count has to offer... figure out your BMI...  then figure out your daily allowance  .... then figure out your daily expenditure  ... 

6) i set my activity level at sedentary.. because one.. your body is use to what you do on a daily basis, besides added exercise..  so i just add whatever exercise i do each day to figure out my total calories burned..

7) use your food log.. this will help you figure out your deficit each day... and will hold you accountable for everything you put in your body..  if you cant use the log all day, you can take a notebook with you and write everything down then enter it later... i personally find its easier to plan what i am going to eat a day in advance, especially if i find i have a special event happening..

8)then take your daily calories burned  and subtract your daily caloric intake... this will equal your deficit for the day..  you want this to be between say 500 - 750 .. everybody is different, so you need to find that magic number that works for you...

9) exercise... even if you are just starting out..  you can take it slow to start with.. getting up and walking ten minutes will be good for a beginner.. you dont have to jump right into an hour workout..  you dont have to work out everyday.. just get into a habit of doing it.. you will almost immediately see results in at least the way you feel each day because of it..

10) use the forums... there are a lot of knowledgeable people out there..  and they have almost all been right where you are at some point in this journey..  we are all more then willing to help..  if we can...

11) plateaus - i hate em lol. i am stuck on one now.. and i know the advice i have given does work to break them.. i just have to force myself to do so.. lol... to break a plateau.. CHANGE WHAT YOU ARE DOING... it will basically "shock" your metabolism..  so if you are eating 1300 calories a day.. try eating 1500 calories for a few days then drop back down for a few.. then back up for a few.. then back down...  your body wont know what to expect next..  they call this "zigzagging" here on cc..   it works.. sometimes if i go out and have a good dinner.. enjoy myself.. dont worry so much about the calories.. i will see a change when i go back to eating normal.. (just watch your sodium level when you do this.. over 2500 mg in a day and you are BOUND to see a weight gain, and it will mostly be water... the only way you will see a real weight gain is if its 1) muscle or 2) you ate 3500 calories over your allowance...(3500 equals a lb according to cc)  if changing up what you are eating doesnt work.. then change up your exercise routine.. do something different.. increase it.. try a different type of workout.. something different...

12) enjoy yourself.. dont deprive yourself...  use will power, and eat proper propertions of foods..  try not to fill your caloric allotment with empty calories..