Tuesday, October 04, 2011

30 lbs. down and 100 days logged

100 days ago I publicly declared I needed to lose weight.  You can read that here.   I had a vague idea of what to do.
Get motivated.
Tell other people (family and the blogosphere) I was planning to get in shape.
Eat healthier.
Exercise more.
Make goals so I know if I'm winning or losing.

I had no idea what a difference how invaluable Fat2FitRadio podcasts would play in my journey.  They have played a HUGE role in my healthier thinking and healthier lifestlye.

I drank minimum of 8 glasses of water a day.  In fact, there were probably only 2 days that I drank that little.  Usually I drank 12-14 glasses.  Sometimes I drank 16.  Once I had 20. 

I learned that I should keep my sodium intake below 2300 mg. 

I ate my 5 a day fruits and vegetables.  There were only a handful of days I didn't get enough. 

I learned that I did NOT want to lose weight fast.  My goal was to lose 1% of body weight per week to make sure I wasn't losing muscle and inhibiting my metabolism. 

When things slowed down and I didn't seem to be losing even half a percent a week, I UPPED my calories and dropped the weight. 

I averaged (while nursing an infant) 2200-2600 calories daily. 

I didn't deprive myself.  I learned about portion sizes.  I discovered that if something was low-fat there was a good chance it was either high in sugar or sodium. 

I tried to eat whole foods with less processing.  But I am busy and a mother of 7 and therefore must be realistic with my time and money.  Oftentimes, sadly, processed foods are much cheaper.  Happily, they are making less of an appearance in our home and meals. 

I did eat Cheetos, ice cream, butter, fast food, even French Fries a handful of times.  But I kept things in check.  I didn't order the large fries or just eat Cheetos out of the bag.  I measured out portions so I could make an accurate journal entry.  I realized that oftentimes, one serving was plenty for me. 

So, yeah.  I didn't feel deprived.  I don't feel like a slave to the food scale or label.  I feel like it's liberated me. 

Now, after measuring so often, I can eyeball portion sizes pretty accurately. 

I find myself craving vegetables and fresh fruit more.

I'm not as tired in the afternoon.  2-3 p.m. used to be my low-energy, low-motivation and self-control time.  It was the time of day I was most likely to eat processed junk food or candy for a pick-me-up. 

Here's to the next 100 days!

10 comments:

Mary Ann said...

That's great! So proud of you!

A. said...

That wasn't that long! What a great update! you've done so well and are so good at keeping track of everything. That is quite an accomplishment in iteself with a whole household to run!

Way to go!

feywriter said...

Awesome progress! Sounds like you learned some valuable tips along the way. :)

tina said...

Awesome job, Nikki! Very inspiring post, thanks for sharing! 30 pounds in 100 days is fantastic. I need to do what you did!

i'm erin. said...

Wow you're doing so good! I'm on it again. I promise to log in.

lvs2dance said...

Nicki I'm so proud of you! That is amazing results, congrats girl!

Neighbor Jane Payne said...

I'm so proud of you. That's incredible you feel such power.

Julie V. said...

very awesome...keep up the good work!

Brooke said...

Nikki, I saw your post awhile back that said you started using myfitnesspal.com and it was right when Derek and I were looking at losing some wieght. We both signed up that day (actually I signed both of us up) and we have both lost 8 pounds since then!! We decided to lose some wieght on August 1st when Derek was 5 pounds over what he said he would never go over and I needed to lose 20 pounds after having baby #6. So now I am 9 pounds away from my goal wieght and Derek has lost 15 pounds and is now just "maintaining"!! Thanks for sharing the website, we now have my mom and brother and sister-in-law started on it too, and my dad says that if we all make our goals then he will believe and do it too!! Ha Ha!! It is a great help to show you exactly what you are putting your mouth each day. Derek has even stared telling his patients that are serious about losing weight in a healthy way!! Thanks a bunch!

Brooke

Nikki said...

Brooke! That is so awesome. Look at what a healthy trend you started in your family! That must be a great feeling. And oh my goodness you have SIX KIDS!!! How did this happen?! I just caught myself up on your blog.

I can't believe you're only 9 pounds away after having your sixth baby. That's truly amazing. And your baby's middle name is my baby's name. :)

Thanks for stopping by. I sure enjoyed hearing from you and hearing about your progress!