Weight

I wanted to touch on a big topic in my life right now - my weight. Ive been a big girl for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is my mom holding me while at the grocery store. I remember the clerk saying how cute and chunky I was. She made a point to comment on my hands. I didn't have knuckles - I had dimples where the knuckles should be. I, over the years, have thought of this memory and always looked at my hands as a reminder of my weight. To this day, Ive never had knuckles.

When Mistee and I met, in 1999, I was 185 pounds and a size 12 - 10 if I held my breath. Of my teenage or early adult years that was the period of time I felt the most healthy, physically speaking. I had just moved to Texas from Florida, was exercising daily and aware of what I put in my mouth.

Over the years- kids, family, stresses, and struggles caused me to put myself on the back burner and caused the pounds to slowly but surly creep back on.

I did not make a New Year's resolution this year. My weight loss journey has nothing to do with that. I just woke up one day and said to myself "Im done. No more." That day was Sunday January 3rd. Nothing really happened. No defining "Aha!" moment. I just realized I'm not a good example for my kids. I want to be able to get up off of the couch and play with them with out gasping for breath. I want them to know I will be there for them for a long time. I want them to learn positive healthy habits from me and continue on to teach their kids how to live a healthy lifestyle. I'm not looking to be in a triathlon - though I will be walking 60 miles in this years Susan G Komen Three Day for the Cure - but more on that later. I'm not looking for washboard abs or to dead lift 100 pounds. I just wanna be the best mom I can be for as long as I can be. I don't think that's too much to ask of myself. I don't think my kids deserve any less from me.

In the last 5 weeks, Ive lost 18 pounds - Going from 260 on the dot to 242.

I track all of my food eaten and exercise completed in sparkpeople.com. I absolutely LOVE this website. There's tons of nutrition and fitness information as well as teams you can join. In the teams you meet other people and share stories on your goals and struggles with each other. The best part - its totally free! You can't even beat that with a stick!

Most of my workout sessions are by using the Wii. I really have a good time with the new EA Sports Active games. There are two games - Active and Active More Workouts. Right now, my favorite is More Workouts. I like how it is interactive - if you don't do the moves correctly or stay in correct position - the game stops until you catch up or correct yourself. There's cardio and weight training (through resistance bands) together so it makes for a great circuit training session. There's not a dvd on the planet that does that.

I also have a treadmill that I get on occasionally but to be honest, I get bored. Plus, I get a higher caloric burn with the Wii.

I own one workout dvd. Yup, just one. Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I totally love this workout. It is an ass kicker to say the least. In 20 minutes, she'll either have you crying, puking or ready to slap your mama! But, I promise - if you stick with it, you will see a difference. Sure, in the beginning you may not be able to do the whole thing but after a week, you'll see how you can do more and more. Sometimes, on a day I'm feeling extra bold - Ill do the Wii Active More Workouts AND the 30 Day Shred.

Another thing Ive been looking into is the theory of staying in a calorie deficit. The overall concept is simple math. Calories in < Calories burned = overall weight loss. You first find your BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) by either figuring the equation yourself or finding a calculator to do it for you - Ill take the calculator please! The numbers are based on your age, weight, sex and basic daily activity level not including workout sessions. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body uses to complete a day of basic, everyday functions. With this number, you can develop a deficit either by consuming less calories than your BMR, by burning more calories a day or by a combination of both. By creating a deficit, your body is then forced to "feed off of the land" or burn body fat to make up the difference of the deficit. Hopefully, I havent made this all sound more confusing than it actually is! More info can be found here and here.
Overall, this concept makes perfect sense to me. I was given a spreadsheet by a fellow sparker that calculates daily calorie deficit level. I have been able to see the weight loss before the scale shows it. For me the numbers have been almost dead on. Remember, a pound equals 3500 calories. If I have a calorie deficit of 1000 calories a day - in a week, I can see a two pound weight loss on the scale. For me, the spreadsheet is a great tool to see the numbers and track my progress. If your'e interested in the spreadsheet, just let me know!

Please, please - if you have any input on the methods I'm using to become more healthy or suggestions - share!!