Eating Better

As of late, I've been researching The Zone Diet and The Belly Fat Cure and incorporating principles of each within my diet. There's an LHCF member that lost 30 pounds in two months on The Belly Fat Cure and another member who has lost 5 pounds in 7 days so far on The Zone Diet. In researching both diets, I'm realizing the importance of protein, good carbs and limiting my sugar intake to feel fuller and to also eliminate certain food cravings.

The critical one key to The Belly Fat Cure is knowing how to eat the right quantity of sugar and carbs. The bottom line goal is to eat no more than 15 grams of sugar and 6 servings of carbs (one serving of carbs is anything that has 5-20 grams of carbs).

The Zone Diet is about balancing your hormones within a specific range to control hunger on fewer calories while still getting the proper nutrients your body needs for long-term health. With the right balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats, you can control three major hormones generated by the diet – insulin, glucagon and eicosanoids.

I'm not expecting great miracles, but within both diets, I've seen realistic approaches that I can utilize that will help me on this weight loss journey.

I Need A Motivacation

Ok, I'm going to set my first deadline for September 1, 2009. I am going out of town for my SO's birthday that week and I plan on being at least 25 pounds lighter by that time. I know that I can do it if I continue to watch what I eat.

Star rewards - May

I fell waaaaay short of my goal of 35 stars for the month of May....I contribute it to a lil foot injury I had on the 19th. I didn't let that stop me from trying to eat right. Anyway, I was able to lose 5 pounds after all was said and done. I am now back on track with my workouts, today will be my first time exercising since the lil foot mishap. I am also going to start journaling my food intake.....Anyway I'm back and ready to continue on this weight loss journey.

Get me bodied

Last week I successfully got up and exercised 3 mornings before going to work. Yay me! I have experimented with different workouts that are giving me the best burn for my alotted workout time. That being said, I have narrowed it down to two DVD workous that I will stick with for this fat burning phase...Cardio Salsa and Hip Hop Abs Fat Burning Cardio. I burn a minimum of 400 calories with HHA and a minimum of 550 with Cardio Salsa.

Plan of action

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I will do both workout DVDS. Friday & Saturday mornings I will do Hip Hop Abs. Sundays and Mondays will be observed for Cardio Salsa. If I stick with this schedule, I could burn close to 5,000 calories! To prevent boredom, I'll add walk days and aerobic classes at Balancing Beautiful Bodies to the mix from time to time. Between exercising and taking Chlorella (shout out to the ladies of LHCF), I feel so energized and ready for the challenge of working out daily!!

You are what you eat

For every 3500 extra calories that you consume that your body doesn’t burn, you will GAIN 1 pound of fat. At the same time, it also means that for every 3500 extra calories that your body does burn, you will LOSE 1 pound of fat.

My daily caloric needs:

Maintain weight: 2529 Calories/day
Slow loss: 2023 Calories/day
Extreme loss: 1960 Calories/day

By eliminating 500 calories a day, you will lose one pound in a week. So if your daily caloric need is 2529 to maintain your weight, subtract 500 from that, and you’ll have the number of calories you can consume each day and still lose a pound in one week. Subtract another 500 to lose 2 pounds per week. I'm shooting to do a combination of the two. Burn 3500 calories weekly and create a daily 500 calorie deficit.

Yeah baby, I'm gonna bring sexy back for real this time!

My Inspiration

My motivation to exercise as much as possible has come from a workout calendar that I created...For every workout session that I complete, I get a star. My goal for the month of May is to get 35 stars. I also got up before going to work and exercised yesterday. Another toot for me! This week I will be adding Friday in as another "Workout before going to work" day.

To serve as visual aids, I put how many calories I need daily to maintain my weight, slowly lose weight and to lose weight fast as a daily reminder. I've also started counting calories. I didn't want to resort to doing this but after weeks of no weight loss, I see that creating a calorie deficit is the best way to go to see rapid results. Speaking of which, I bought some Lean Cuisines (chicken club panini was the best) for lunch at work because of the amount of calories but the downfall is they're high in sodium. So I'll take those when I don't have time to prepare a better lunch.

I'll keep you all posted. Enjoy the rest of this fabulous day!

Slowly but surely

This has been a great week so far. My eating habits have changed. I was able to get up Tuesday morning and work out before going to work...I am soooo not a morning person. It was a very liberating feeling! I also created a calendar that is helping to keep me motivated and on track with my workouts.

If I can get into the habit of doing these things that have made this a great week, I will be able to reach my goal in no time. I’m so ready to be rewarded!