My brain has been in a bit of overload mode since my meeting with the trainer on Monday ~ all this nutrition and exercise stuff can get very complicated, very fast!
But I am trying to make sense of it all, and figure out the best way for me to meet my goals. I have the exercise thing all figured out and know what I need to do ~ it’s the nutrition that is weighing on my mind. Basically, I have 2 weight loss options:
The Weight Watchers Way
I am no stranger to Weight Watchers ~ I know how to do it and I know that it works. Well, it has worked for me in the past. It worked great when I had 35 pounds to lose a few years ago ~ and it stopped working as well after I lost a majority of the weight. WW got me to the lowest weight of 149, and that was about 2 years ago. I remember that the drop from 155 to 149 took FOREVER!! So now, at 159 pounds I am almost at the same starting point.
I have been somewhat following WW for the past while, and have dropped about 4 pounds. The last couple weeks though, I have been stalled at the 159-160 mark. So I know I need something to mix it up a bit.
The Calorie Counting Way
This is what the trainer has advised for me ~ 1420 calories per day, with a target goal of 140g of protein, 140g of carbs and less than 30-35g of fat.
If you are anything like me, I almost flipped at the 140g of daily protein!!!! I think that’s a lot. But, like anything ~ it’s a target to shoot for.
Apparently the breakdown is based on your body weight ~ healthy weight loss nutrition indicates that you should eat 1g of protein and 1g of carb for every pound of body weight ~ and my trainer used my goal weight of 140 to compute my specific daily totals.
In addition, trainer woman says that I should be eating 6-8 times a day (and apparently Hershey kisses don’t count here), and that every time I eat a meal or snack it should have ALL the nutritional components present. Translated: every time you put food in your mouth, make sure it has protein, carb and fat. Easy as pie, right?
Not so much. This has taking a lot of planning and though on my part over the past couple days to try and make this thing work. Yesterday I stuck to the plan like glue, and was actually struggling last night to make sure I ate all my calories. And the funny thing ~ I wasn’t the least bit hungry.
So I am giving this calorie-counting thing a try for now, and see how it works. Again, the trainer reaffirmed for me that nutrition is 80% of the weight loss battle; exercise is the small remaining 20%.
The best part of all of this is that I feel totally committed. I am committed to making a change this summer, and the end result will be a healthier, more fit Pokey. By the time I run my next half marathon this fall, I AM going to be at least 10 pounds lighter and have a lot less body fat to lug around!!
If any other of my Blogland experts have any nutritional advice for me, I’d be happy to take it! I need all the help I can get ;)
Monday ~ Run with concrete shoes - 3 miles; Body Pump (weight lifting) - 60 minutes
Tuesday ~ Tae-Bo – 30 minutes
Wednesday ~ (PLAN) Body Attack – 60 minutes
Thursday ~ REST (aaaahhhhhh)
Friday ~ (PLAN) Run - TBD
Saturday~ (PLAN) Run - TBD
Sunday~ (PLAN) Run or Rest ~ it's a coin toss
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15 comments:
Hey Pokey - I'm kinda like you right now as far as WW goes. It worked really well for me in the past, but this time, not so much. I think for me, there is almost too much freedom on WW - and right now I need someone to slap my hand when I reach into the cookie jar (over and over again)!
Are you logging your cals in on Sparkpeople? That would probably help alot.
Glad you are committed and feeling good about it - good luck!! :)
First I've heard the 1:1/lb protein to carb ratio.
I know that first off, it's about calories in vs. calories burned. The more you burn, the more you can theoretically get away with.
Second, I think you may look at adjusting if you're doing longer exercise sessions of over an hour. Especially if you're gonna do longer runs on the weekends. I think you'd need much more in the carb department vs. proteins. Some of the running guru's suggest as much as 70/20/10 pcts carb/protein/fats.
It is a lot to digest (no pun intended.) Good luck, I know you'll get there!
I agree with the 6 - 8 meals. I find that I am never hungry if I'm eating smaller meals every couple of hours.
Also, once you get into your weight lifting routine, you'll have more muscle, which burns more calories (even when you're "resting"). You are on the right track!
Poke, I am very happy with the WeWa way. I do up the carbs when needed and protien but try to stay in my pt range. With a few couple point snack mixed in the day. It works when I follow it. Without somehwere to document my food and no pts(cals) count I get outta control.
Maybe your just at a lil stuck point.
Doing it the way the trainer suggested would only work for a very short amount of time for me. That just uses way too much brain power. :>P I don't know girl but give it a whirl and see what happens! :>D
I have a hard time with plans that take a lot of brain power too until I get some good stand bys that work. String cheese and a few wheat thins, lowfat yogurt and a graham cracker, carrots and hummus - those were my three favorite protein/carb balanced snacks. (Not that you necessarily asked for suggestions on that front - but I thought I'd throw them out there anyway!) You sound very positive - keep it up!
Shoot!!! It just dawned on me I forgot to send in my weight for the Independence Challenge - poop!!!
Okay, what I was gonna say:
I don't have much advice really, just 10 years of doing this. I agree with the WW issue. I am back to WW after 2 years and it's working great for me. I've done all the different types of eating out there and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think I've decided that the real key is to find what works for you. I've gotten so completely obsessed over food that I was counting every single nutrient and that not only didn't work, it made me crazy :)
I've now eased up on myself and am back on WW and doing well. Whatever you do good luck with it and I hope it works for you.
Ahhh, nutrition...
I'm trying to increase my protein, just cuz it worked for a friend of mine.
I'm loosely following WW, but the biggest change came from cutting HFCS from my diet. I was shocked at how many things are loaded with that nasty stuff!
Hi Pokey
Best of luck with the plan. I think one thing that is so important is to drink a ton of water. When I was really heavy about 5 years ago (215 pds.), I lost most of my weight by drinking 24 oz of water before I ate anything. It sure did curb my appetite....
Again, best of luck.
I use DailyPlate.com to log every bite I put in my mouth. I've been using it since November, and I love it - the database seems to be bigger than most, it's constantly updated, and you can add recipes using the exact brands you use rather than generics (which can make a big difference). Good luck!
I am right there will you chica. This stuff is confusing. Is there a certain percentage equation to keep in mind? so many calories, certain percentage protein, fat, and carbs? just curious. I am still learning and working on being committed to this lifestyle change!
I hate counting what I eat. That's the problem. Unless it's cookies. I like counting cookies so long as I also ge to eat them.
Usually they don't advocate that.
(And yeah, generally we don't get enough protein... )
I so need to write about my PT experience. But I am to tired.
80/20 ugggh that is not very good news. I am trying to crunch down more on my nutrition also. It isn't easy. Good luck with it.
I am HORRIBLE at this stuff, but when I had to lose weight I did the cal counting thing. It worked well for me :-)
I'm with you Pokey!
I gained weight training for the Marathon, go figure. Now I'm on the "challenge" and trying to stick with smaller portions, 6 - 8 times per day as per the Sports Nutritionist, so far I've gained another pound LMAO!!
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