I'd also like to take this opportunity to promote a fantastic weight loss resource website that I have been using for quite some time now: www.livestrong.com
It is a fantastic and inspiring website which helps people who want to make a difference to their lives, whether it be changing their diet, exercising more or stopping smoking. Set up by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
For someone like me who has no idea what is in the food she is eating it is a great resource. Once you sign up for your FREE account you can track your weight, your fitness and the food you are eating everyday with a handy tool called MyPlate. It's one of the easiest things to use ever! You just go to MyPlate and type in the food you have ate that day, and this interactive tool searches the food for you and tells you how many calories, fat, sodium etc etc are in it. Had weetabix and a banana for breakfast, type it in and it gives you various search results - click the one that matches your food choice and voila! This is great as it tells you how many calories you have had each day, and helps you to watch your food intake. You also type in your age, weight and your weight loss goal (say you want to lose 2lbs a week) and it calculates how many calories you should be consuming each day to reach that goal. Before I was paying attention to what I was eating I was consuming near to 3000 calories a day! Now I eat just over 1000, perfect to help with weight loss. It never sets a calorie goal that is too low to be healthy.
Out and about? You can download the MyPlate app to your phone, I have one on my Blackberry and it is linked to my online account! Brilliant!
You can type in your weight and measurements online and it makes graphs of your progress for you. On your "Dashboard" it shows your weight graph and also shows a trend line, based on your weight loss/gain, it shows what weight you could be in the next month if you keep up the routine - a fantastic motivator.
I've noticed they also have a MyPlateD, for people with Diabetes. As well as a community, success stories, a facebook page, twitter account, You Tube channel, recipes, body fat calculator, bmi calculator etc. So loads of support for someone wanting to lose weight/get healthy!
All in all - it is a fantastic site and everyone should give it a try! I have lost eight lbs by using the site (which is a lot for me as I don't have that much weight to lose) and that's with barely trying! Just being aware of the calorie content of my food has clearly helped big time!
So give it a try!
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Well, one day down and I already broke one of my rules....I weighed myself this morning! Down to 10st 3lb, so lost 1lb already! Just shows you what happens when you stop feeding your body rubbish!
But MUST stick to my rules from now on. Weigh in day is Sunday morning before work. I did well with everything else though, I drank 6 glasses of water, avoided irn bru and watched over what I was eating - no bad snacks, just strawberries!
Cravings have started already though. I really want some Mild Curry Super Noodles! But I'll behave....or maybe just have half the packet for once rather than the full lot. Smaller portion sizes is one of the best methods!
I just read an article on the Closer Magazine website, it was quite motivating! (Closer: Don't put your diet off) I particularly enjoyed this part:
"Set yourself realistic goals. If you aim too high, e.g. trying to lose 3 dress sizes to fit into that LBD for the office Xmas party, you will feel like you've failed when you don't achieve the impossible!
Instead, try to have smaller, short-term goals when you take on a new diet. Maybe decide to only have chocolate two times a week, or ensure you get your five portions of fruit a day, every day and aim to do at least an hour's worth of exercise a week.
If you have achievable tasks like this, you will feel good when you meet your goals and this positivity will spur you on to stay healthy and not have any calorie-bomb relapses! "
It's very true! Setting yourself unachievable tasks is never going to work. If you have a few dress sizes to go down, just focus on losing one dress size first. Don't look at it as a massive mountain to climb, just take it one step at a time. And if you DO fall off the wagon one day (we all have days off where we feel a bit down and eating a massive bag of crisps is the only way to cheer you up!) just take it as a day off, and start fresh and newly motivated the next day. Don't just give up and think you're never going to reach your goals!
But MUST stick to my rules from now on. Weigh in day is Sunday morning before work. I did well with everything else though, I drank 6 glasses of water, avoided irn bru and watched over what I was eating - no bad snacks, just strawberries!
Cravings have started already though. I really want some Mild Curry Super Noodles! But I'll behave....or maybe just have half the packet for once rather than the full lot. Smaller portion sizes is one of the best methods!
I just read an article on the Closer Magazine website, it was quite motivating! (Closer: Don't put your diet off) I particularly enjoyed this part:
"Set yourself realistic goals. If you aim too high, e.g. trying to lose 3 dress sizes to fit into that LBD for the office Xmas party, you will feel like you've failed when you don't achieve the impossible!
Instead, try to have smaller, short-term goals when you take on a new diet. Maybe decide to only have chocolate two times a week, or ensure you get your five portions of fruit a day, every day and aim to do at least an hour's worth of exercise a week.
If you have achievable tasks like this, you will feel good when you meet your goals and this positivity will spur you on to stay healthy and not have any calorie-bomb relapses! "
It's very true! Setting yourself unachievable tasks is never going to work. If you have a few dress sizes to go down, just focus on losing one dress size first. Don't look at it as a massive mountain to climb, just take it one step at a time. And if you DO fall off the wagon one day (we all have days off where we feel a bit down and eating a massive bag of crisps is the only way to cheer you up!) just take it as a day off, and start fresh and newly motivated the next day. Don't just give up and think you're never going to reach your goals!
Monday 1 August 2011
My Weight Loss Goals!
I'm actually not overweight anymore but I'm still a little bit too chubby to be comfortable. Lets get things straight, as much as I would love to be as skinny as Hayley Williams (who my boyfriend and I happened to be drooling over when she was on Kerrang the other day) it's just not me and would not suit my body shape! I'd look like skeletor if I got too thin.
My mum is a great inspiration for losing weight. She is three inches shorter than me (she's around five foot) and she was up at 13stone for the past few years - really not healthy. She's now down to roughly nine stone. And while I admire her willpower (and hopefully I can channel that) she lost the weight due to stress as her partner was in Afghanistan and was barely eating. I hope to reduce my portion sizes but there's no way I could starve myself! I just love my grub too much!
A couple of years ago I was 11st 6lbs, not good for my small height of 5' 3". When I first started seeing my man I must have been about 9 and a half stone, but that's what happiness does to you!
I've now got my weight down to about 10st 5lb but it's stuck there. I think with a little bit of determination and hard work I can get down to my target weight of 9 and a half stone again! Special K website says if I follow their diet I can do this in time for going back to uni this September! We shall see!
So the main rules I am going to stick by will be
It's only a stone - that's not too much to ask? :)
My mum is a great inspiration for losing weight. She is three inches shorter than me (she's around five foot) and she was up at 13stone for the past few years - really not healthy. She's now down to roughly nine stone. And while I admire her willpower (and hopefully I can channel that) she lost the weight due to stress as her partner was in Afghanistan and was barely eating. I hope to reduce my portion sizes but there's no way I could starve myself! I just love my grub too much!
A couple of years ago I was 11st 6lbs, not good for my small height of 5' 3". When I first started seeing my man I must have been about 9 and a half stone, but that's what happiness does to you!
I've now got my weight down to about 10st 5lb but it's stuck there. I think with a little bit of determination and hard work I can get down to my target weight of 9 and a half stone again! Special K website says if I follow their diet I can do this in time for going back to uni this September! We shall see!
So the main rules I am going to stick by will be
- Drink 64 ounces of water each day (thats the recommended 8 glasses a day y'all!)
- Make sure I'm eating some fruit as snacks
- Do a weigh in once a week - on Sunday mornings - NOT everyday like I usually do on diets
- Cut down on portion sizes
- Avoid high fat foods - no crisps and chocolate! Makes you spotty, and no one wants that when you aren't a teenager anymore!
- Exercise whether you like it or not! Mix stuff up a bit if you get bored!
- NO. IRN. BRU. No more, caffeine is OUT!
It's only a stone - that's not too much to ask? :)
Bonjour!
First ever blog post!! Not sure what I want this blog to be yet....but as people who follow my twitter or fb will know, I tend to want to use the internet as my diary. Which a lot of people don't like, so this is what the blog shall become!
At the moment I'm very motivated towards the goal of losing weight and getting into shape, so I think this is what my blog shall be about. A sort of personal, weight loss achievement diary! If I write down my goals, my motivations, my feelings, I think it will be a constant reminder of where I need to be! If I get followers who benefit from my musings - great! If not, at least I'm helping myself!
At the moment I'm very motivated towards the goal of losing weight and getting into shape, so I think this is what my blog shall be about. A sort of personal, weight loss achievement diary! If I write down my goals, my motivations, my feelings, I think it will be a constant reminder of where I need to be! If I get followers who benefit from my musings - great! If not, at least I'm helping myself!
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