If my train falls off the track...

        So here I am, it has been MONTHS since I have done anything. Not just with my blog, but as far as my health, diet and nutrition in general. I have been really down on myself, not motivated and pretty much in a state of constant "blah". Just recently I decided I was going to start watching The Biggest Loser on Hulu again. After about a week of watching, I decided that I needed to get off my ass and try again.
        I realize that in blog entries past I was singing from the rooftops about the Weight Watchers Quick Start Program. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking it. But what I realized was that you can't live that way. And therein lies the problem. You need to be able to live your life. Diet and exercise HAS to be a lifestyle. When doing the quick start program, I would panic about going out to eat, or hanging out with friends. That clearly is not the way to go and should have been a red flag that I was on the wrong path.
        I have a few things that I would like to share with everyone. First, I have decided to keep my quick start books, not for the purpose of utilizing the program, but for the fact that there are excellent recipes in there that give me all the nutritional information along with serving sizes that I still plan to use. Also, you can find simple ways to tweak your favorite recipes to make them healthier! It just takes some research. And finally there are a few apps/programs that I have started using that I find incredibly helpful.
         First of all if you have an Android or iPhone then you can go to the app market and look up a free app titled my fitness pal. After having gone through several apps that are similar to this one, I have decided this is definitely the best of the bunch. You can scan in bar codes off food labels, research different food options or choices, add recipes that you make from scratch and this way are able to track all of the calories you consume in a given day. Also there is a section that allows you to add any exercise you have done over the course of the day to track your calories burned. Its a really great tool and makes eating out that much less stressful!
          Next I would like to share with you some research that I have done to discover the best possible way to track everything you do in the course of a day and how it will effect your weight loss. There is a simple mathematical formula that dietitians, trainers and coaches use to help their clients achieve maximum results. I am going to share that with you now. First set is for women. You will need to find out your Active Metabolic Rate (AMR). To do this you need your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), your daily activity level, and your exercise expenditure.

           To find your BMR for a woman the equation is 655+(4.3x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).

           The next step is your daily activity level. From the following pick the one that best describes you. Sedentary (1.1), Light physical activity (1.2), Moderate physical activity (1.3), or High physical activity (1.4). Be as honest as you can here!

           Finally the last step to finding your AMR is your exercise expenditure. You need to know how many calories you exert depending on the type of exercise you do. This is for exercise, not your daily walk to the coffee pot! Mine was 405 calories on the elliptical.

            So here is my final equation to find my BMR... 655 + (4.3 x 218) + (4.7 x 67) - (4.7 x 34) This give me 1747.5 as my Basal Metabolic Rate.

            Now I need to plug this number to another equation to find out my AMR. You will take your BMR (mine is 1747.5) and multiply by your daily activity level (mine is 1.2). Then take the result and add your exercise expenditure. The result is your Active Metabolic Rate (AMR).

            This is how my equation looks : 1747.5 x 1.2 = 2097 + 405 = 2502.

            This is how many calories I burn in a given day with my height, weight, age and daily activities, including exercise.

            Now here's the men's equation for BMR: 66 + (6.3 x weight in lbs) + (12.9 x height in inches)- (6.8 x age in years) The equation for AMR is the same for men and women.

            Now more important facts! There are 3500 calories in a pound. In order to lose say 5 pounds in a week you would need to burn 17500 calories in the course of a week. Now your AMR is how much you burn in a day, BUT you also need to factor in what you are eating. So if my caloric intake is 1320 cal/day and I am burning 2502 cal/day that puts my total loss burn for the day at 1182 calories. Over the course of the week (7 days) if I keep to the same daily numbers I would burn 8274 calories and I would lose 2.5 pounds a week. This information gives me the ability to tweak my calories consumed vs. burned to adjust my weight loss to where I would like it to be. So by adding more calories burned during exercise, say I add another 600 calories to make my exercise expenditure 1000 calories, I would then up my AMR to 3097, minus my caloric intake of 1320 and my daily burn is now 1777, for a loss of 3.5 lbs a week. Don't forget, as a woman you NEVER want to drop your calories below 1200. For a man it is 1500.
           As far as exercise is concerned, first and foremost, stick to it! Also you want it to be a mix of cardio and strength. But don't over do it! Go at a pace that is comfortable for you! So I am pretty sure that at this point I have everyone's heads reeling from all the math and information. All I can say is take it one step at a time, like me. This isn't a sprint, its a marathon, and what is important is the long haul. Off to exercise! Love to you all! And don't forget to leave me some love and some comments!

Progress is progress

Well as you can tell by the title, I'm not exactly thrilled with this weeks numbers. However, progress is progress, even if it's little baby steps. Last week I lost a total of 6.8lbs. This week I lost 2.4. Its a loss. I need to keep telling myself that. The fact of the matter is my time of the month is within a day or so of rearing its ugly head and as I was told by a few people, its going to effect my weight loss. So I am hoping that by next week at this time, I have a nice large number to report and that I am under the dreaded 200lb mark that I have been fighting so long with. But to date a 9.2lb loss over two weeks is a great accomplishment. Ralph says I gotta keep pushing, and not slack off because I'm extra tired or crampy. So, with that said, off I go! And tomorrow I will post my updated measurements! Thanks for reading and leave some love!!!

Measurement Day

Today was body measurement day. I wanted to share my numbers with everyone! I will post starting numbers and todays numbers. Chest: 46 1/2 - 44 1/2 (down 2 inches), Arm: 14 - 12 (down 2 inches), Waist: 43 - 40 1/2 (down 2 1/2 inches), Thigh: 25 1/2 - 23 (down 2 1/2 inches), Calf: 18 - 16 1/2 (down 1 1/2 inches)!!!!!

Im down everywhere! Nothing was the same, and the weigh seems to be coming off pretty evenly so far. Also, I would like to report that I weighed myself this morning too, (even though I also did it yesterday) and I am down a total of 8.2lbs since I started 8 days ago! Im so proud of myself and wanted to share with everyone!!!

Many Bright Blessings!! Leave some comments!!!

New Friends, New Motivations...

Ok, so once again I have let a lot of time lapse between entries. But I have come to realize there is only so much a person can say. LOL So with that in mind I am changing the direction of this blog a little bit. I have recently joined a Facebook group of weight loss oriented "pagans". What I am now planning to do is to use my journey as an inspiration and motivation to others. I will not be posting my links on Facebook in general for a while, because of my Biggest Loser competition. I can't let the cat out of the bag as to what I am doing and how I am progressing. My competitors can be fierce! And since I want to share on here what I am doing and how I am doing it, I will only post to my pagan friends for the course of the competition, which is 16 weeks.

So with that said, lets share! Last week was weigh in. I weighed 215 on the scale at work, however I am only going to work off my home scale because I use to regularly. Every so often I may jump on the scale at work just to see the difference between home and work, but mostly I will be using my own numbers. So like I said, 215 on the scale at work, but at home I was 213.6. Today I weighed in again, after 7 days, and I weighed 206.8. A loss of 6.8lbs!! Yay me!! Last Friday I took all of my measurements. They were as follows: Chest 46 1/2", Arm 14", Waist 43", Thigh 25 1/2", Calf 18". Tomorrow will be one week for the measurements, so I will take them tomorrow and post them here.

So what am I doing to achieve this? Well in previous posts here you will note my discussions on the Weight Watchers Quick Start Program Cookbook. It is a fabulous tool! You can find it on Amazon.com for 99 cents. THE SHIPPING COSTS MORE!!! LOL It has been the best 99 cents I have ever spent on myself! You will not starve! You will not go without sweets! All you need to do is a little planning! I plan out an entire weeks food and that not only helps with the "what am I gonna cook today?" problem, but also helps me arrange my grocery list. I would highly recommend this tiny investment in yourself!!

As far as exercise is concerned, I feel that the best thing to do is NOT follow a routine. In following a routine, you give your body the chance to become accustomed to it, and plateau. I utilize several forms of exercise and change it up as much as possible. I use my Wii fit, I do Zumba, I use an elliptical machine. I never do the same thing 2 days in a row. At some point during this competition I am going to do the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I bought it but I wanted to build up my endurance a little before starting it. Also I figure, in a few weeks my body is probably going to hit its natural plateau point, and that's when I will hit it with Jillian and shake it up! 

Below all my postings you can find a small picture gallery. All pictures of me from my heaviest to now. Feel free to check them out! 

If anyone has any comments, thoughts, support, love, suggestions, stories to share...feel free to leave me a comment!!

Til next time!

OMG How did I get here???

      So its been a while since I have spoken here. Its been an interesting few months to say the least. In August we suffered for 8 long days without power after Hurricane Irene. In October/November we again suffered, thankfully only for 3 days without power when a freak snow storm hit! During these natural catastrophies it was fairly difficult to eat healthy. It was also very easy to drink...ALOT. So here we are, 3 months later, and about 15lbs heavier. =(  How did I get here? Why have I allowed it?? Why didn't I take control sooner??? These are all questions I have been asking myself repeatedly over the last week. To which I can honestly say the only answer I have is "life happens".
      And so, with that in mind, I have started once again to walk down my path of healthier living. Today I started my diet back up again. I am hoping to add exercise to my routine starting tomorrow. I can honestly say I am going to need all the love and support I can get. Its depressing to hop on the scale, after working so hard for so long, to see that all the hard work has been undone and I need to start over. Its a reality check that I didn't want to have to go through again, but here I am. Come January, I think the girls at work would like to do another round of biggest loser. I really hope that they do, because it is a huge motivator for me. Another motivator that I was told about and am very interested in is an event called Warrior Dash. It is an obstacle course type event where the reward at the end is beer. I know it sounds like it would be defeating the purpose, but I can't really help my Irish background and love of alcohol. I figure if I can use it to my advantage, as a reward, maybe it won't sting so bad later. LOL
       Anyway, any support or motivation you guys could send my way would be deeply appreciated. I am going to be more vigilant in posting on here in the coming weeks. So hopefully I can get back on track and into the right groove again...til then... Thanks for the love!

Time flies when your ... WORKING! lol

     Hey everyone! Sorry I have been out of touch for so long. Been a very busy summer for me! So I have been chillin at home by myself without the support of my family all summer as they have been at camp. This was an interesting challenge for me. I rely heavily on my hunny Ralph to motivate me and help keep me going. But with him away for a while I was left with the responsibility of looking after myself...OMG! LOL It was definitely fun and upsetting at the same time.

      I kept up with cooking and preparing my foods and taking them to work with me and eating only what was on the plan fairly well. I even brought some of it up to New Hampshire with me on a visit. The problem I encountered the most however, was the alcohol.

     So its summer time...cookouts, parties, and friends. And here I am, all by my singleness...hmmmmmm.....No, kids....hmmmm.....beer???? YUP! Kinda like being able to be a 20 something all over again. Except for the fact that alcohol=liquid calories....especially the kinds I like to drink! lol With that said, you can imagine the struggle I have gone through all summer. I would lose weight, lose weight, lose weight, go drinking, weigh myself and cry! It was a pretty harsh cycle! But I think I have gotten the hang of it...now that summer is just about over...LMAO.

     The good news is that the summer wasn't a total loss. I am down and still moving in the right direction. I have even gone so far as to buy a 2 piece bathing suit! Now don't freak out just yet, its one of those tankini things where it still covers everything! LOL

     I am adding some new pics to this blog today to show everyone my progress. If you are a FB friend you have already seen one of them, but I'm posting for posterity!  =)  I will try to keep a more up to date blog now that summer is over and I will be going back to a more "regular" schedule. BLECK! Hope everyone has had a fun, safe and great summer!!! Comment and let me know your thoughts!!

Success is hard...

      Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while. Been out of my head busy. The second round of Biggest Loser is in full swing finally and it is going to be an interesting one. There are less competitors this time, which means less of a pot to split up. Also I have been made one of the people in charge by circumstances that have happened in the lives of our other leaders. Its a bit daunting really, lol, but enough of that.
     This last month went by in a blur. Two trips to New Hampshire left me feeling a bit out of sorts in regards to my weight loss and diet plans. How do you travel and still stick to your healthy food choices? Especially when you are on a very strict diet plan? It wasn't easy to make healthy choices, and the second trip, which happened to be for my mothers wedding, I just gave up completely and ate whatever. Luckily when I got home I hadn't gained anything. However I didn't lose weight either.
     One of the things I wanted to talk about also was the effects of stress on weight loss. Do you find that when you are stressing out you tend to lose more weight or less weight? For me its definitely less. I find that when I am happier and things are going smoothly for me, I lose weight easier. What about you guys? Any input on this? How can I decrease some stress factors in my life so as to make my weight loss move along more smoothly?
      Another thought I wanted to put out there was when do you find it easier to exercise? I will be going to day shift for a hardship in a few weeks and I'm not sure when to fit in my exercise...before work, after work, before I eat? I'm just not sure. Its going to be an interesting transition, I'm sure.
       Well, like I said before, things are busy, busy, busy. We have a craft fair we are prepping for this weekend, Eastford Heritage Day. If you are free Saturday, come on out and see all the interesting things that will be going on. Ralph and I will be selling flutes, dream catchers and fairy whistles and I will be face painting. Its an all day event so stop on by. Also, June marks the end of the school year, so I am prepping for that as well. Things are crazy, so I am gonna get to moving here as I have a bunch to do before work tonight and Saturday's fair. Leave some comments, share with friends and enjoy!