Just Looking To Fit In - Defined Goals

I am currently a member of SparkPeople (SP) and am on a team called, "Just Looking to Fit In" (JLTFI). A lot of the teams on SP are related to specific eating plans, workouts, geographic locations, interests and etc. I always had a hard time finding a place to fit, because I'm not doing anything that specific and when you jump in on any of the other teams, you just don't feel like you belong. Well, JLTFI fulfilled my need for a team to get into and it's been great. We are getting ready to start a two-week challenge and were given the opportunity to post a blog for bonus points. I think the blog pretty much sums up the who, what, when, where and why I'm doing all of this, so I thought I'd just post it verbatim here.

I'm just going to get right to it and answer the questions as presented.

What are you realistic goals regarding your weight, fitness and/or nutrition?

Long term: My goals for weight loss are to lose 60 lbs in all, to get my down to 129. I hope to be a consistent exerciser and my long-term goal is to eventually have the confidence to do more than just a walking workout in public. Currently, all my workouts are done in my living room and back yard and I would LOVE to take up cycling again and maybe even running. Nutrition-wise, my goals are to eat nutritious, self-prepared meals consisting of minimal to no processed foods without going over calories. I would also like to get to the point where I know I'm getting most of my nutrients from what I'm eating rather than from vitamins and/or supplements.

For this challenge: I hope to hit my January goal weight of 183. For fitness, I am hoping to further solidify my current habit of working out six days a week and increase my intensity on some of my measurable workouts. Nutrition-wise, I am just shooting for two weeks of on-plan eating. I do not want to have a single over-calorie day in my food journal.


What behaviors or actions do you need to take in order to achieve these goals?

Long term: To lose the weight I want to, I need to be consistent at logging my food consumption in my food journal, not miss workouts for inexcusable reasons, not get off of my eating plan for any reason and I need to be kind to myself so that a slip-up does not lead to a day, week or month of binging. To increase my chances of increasing my fitness, I need to do workouts that I enjoy and not force myself to do the ones I hate just for the sake of doing them. I need to rate my workouts based on enjoyment level and only do those at the top and search for similar workouts to them to add to the mix. To better my nutrition, I need to really LEARN about the food I'm eating to make sure I'm actually putting healthy things into my body and also to ensure that I'm getting as many nutrients per calorie consumed as possible.

For this challenge: I need to monitor calories consumed and expended daily so that I know I'm on track to make my goal of 183 during this challenge. I need to make sure my workouts are scheduled and carried out to the greatest intensity I can muster. Finally, I will do research this week on all the new foods I am planning on bringing into the house so that I can make sure they're the best for my body.


How can your goals be measured so you can see the progress along the way?

The main source of measurement will be through my food and fitness journal. I will log every calorie consumed and every workout done so that I can have a very good understanding of what my body reacts well to. I will also use my weight (I weigh-in weekly) and the way my clothing fits as a measurement of my progress.


How would you feel when these goals are achieved?

I imagine I will feel much more confident in the way I look and extremely confident in my ability to tackle a huge task. I will always struggle with food and my weight, but I will come through this knowing that if I can do it once, I can do it again. I will be very proud of myself, but I pray daily that this will not lead me to being a vain person. That would make all of my effort not worth it.


What is the realistic time line/schedule needed to achieve these goals?

My goal is to weigh 129 when I go to the doctor for my annual visit because that will be one year to the day that she told me that 60 lbs. of weight loss would put me in great shape and right in line with what the right weight for my body would be.


Who can you be accountable to and share your progress with these goals?

I am accountable first and foremost to God. I have given this up to Him because I know that I can't do it without Him Secondly, I'm accountable to my husband. He is my fitness "coach" and a great motivator and, although he doesn't always understand, he is always there to listen to me and help me get through the rough patches. Finally, I will be accountable to my teammates and all the people who read this and my personal blog.


I will come back to this post from time to time for a reality check and to make sure that I'm on track. I am still planning a good, detailed post about some of my resources and I already have a health-related book to review, so there should be some new, informational posts coming soon! I just need to get back on track because this lazy weekend has been a bit of a bust in the logging department. I plan on being back tomorrow to catch up!

"Step away from the chocolate!"

Chocolate is going to be the end of me. I keep telling myself, "I can stop at a serving", but I can't. I never can. I was within my calorie range today and had a decent deficit, but it wasn't done by eating things I want to put into my body every day.

Day 5 (Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010)

Cals eaten: 1792
Cals used (workouts only): 498
Net Cals: 1294
BMR * 1.2 = 1937
Net Cal Deficit: 643

My diet & fitness journal notes for the day: Today's goal met: no, mood: 7, energy level: 7. "Step away from the chocolate!"

I burned my calories by doing the Weight Watchers Get Moving Mix Cardio Dance DVD for 20 minutes this morning and The Firm Ride the Wave and Speed Slimming Sculpt Express DVDs for a total of 33 minutes this evening.


My name is Kimberly, and I am a chocoholic. This afternoon at lunch, I ran home, packed a healthy meal and zoomed out the door so I could go to Alco (our Wal-Mart type store), for a few necessities. I conscientiously pulled up to the store thinking that I would be leaving with some sort of treat. That should have been a big, blaring warning sign for me. I left with a Twix and a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I ate the Twix right after lunch and about half of the PB Cups about 3 hours later. I was fortunate, though. All of that sweetness made me feel miserable. My stomach hurt, I felt bloated and I even contemplated not working out tonight. The horror! I compensated a bit by eating a low-calorie, but satisfying dinner and pushing through my workout. It wasn't so hard, but I don't want to do that again tomorrow, or any other day for that matter.

I'm also facing a bit of concern from MM. He feels I may be working out too much. I definitely understand his concern, but I'm listening to my body and taking it easy on days I feel it's necessary. I'm such a sedentary person that I think it's okay if, on my day "off", I take a 30-minute walk. Time will tell, but I did promise MM that I will be careful. He's also a bit concerned that I may cut too many calories, but I am eating until I'm satisfied. My gauge is a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being painfully hungry and 10 being painfully full. I'd love to eat until I'm at 5 every time I eat, but it's closer to 6 and maybe even 7. I'm definitely not feeling hungry all day, so I'm sure I'm getting enough cals in. Again, time will tell and I will make adjustments if necessary.

I am proud of myself for getting through 5 full days with a positive attitude and definite results, even if the results aren't physical!

I'm feeling good

Today didn't end up being the day I wanted it to be calorie intake/output wise, but I have such a positive outlook right now that I'm able to see past it. Here's today's breakdown:

Day 4 (Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010)

Cals eaten: 2096
Cals used (workouts only): 189
Net Cals: 1907
BMR * 1.2 = 1937
Net Cal Deficit: 30

My diet & fitness journal notes for the day: Today's goal met: no, mood: 7, energy level: 7. "Today was another productive day & I love all the energy I have!"

I burned my calories by doing a Bellydance Boogie DVD (tons of fun!) this evening.


Now I know that any sane person would tell me that I'm not going to lose weight with only a deficit of 30 calories and I heartily agree. The lesson I learned from all of this is that I cannot track my food at night after I've eaten it all. I HAVE to track it as I eat, or as soon thereafter as practical, to know where I stand. I'm moving on and focusing on doing things right tomorrow.

I'm feeling SO great, though. My energy level has been sky-high just since making changes to my workout regimen and eating habits on Sunday. The house is neater, the laundry is actually put away and I have given myself the gift of additional free time every evening so far. I've been getting up earlier than I thought I ever would and I just feel so clean, even with the slip-ups I've had. I haven't weighed myself, but if I did this morning and the scale hadn't changed, I know I would still have a smile on my face because I can feel my body changing. Praise the Lord for that!!!

Well, at least it's a deficit!

Today started out just GRAND. I got up, did a 30-minute workout, fixed a healthy, healthy breakfast and then did my quiet time. I also actually made it to work on time in spit of all of that. Then, the munchies hit. I think it had to do with the fact that I had eaten breakfast so much earlier than usual and didn't have a healthy snack at the ready. What do I do? I go get a bag of Reese's Pieces and a Diet Coke. Only problem was that it was a jumbo bag that contained a whopping 800 calories. I didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting, though. I ate some, then put the rest in the break room to "share" with my coworkers. Then, I came back in from lunch, saw that some pieces remained and ate the rest. Sigh. Here's the day's totals:

Day 3 (Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010)

Cals eaten: 2256
Cals used (workouts only): 544
Net Cals: 1712
BMR * 1.2 = 1937
Net Cal Deficit: 225

My diet & fitness journal notes for the day: Today's goal met: yes, mood: 7, energy level: 7. "Blah. That's all I have to say about that."

I burned my calories by doing two workouts; one 30 minute bellydance dvd at 6:00 a.m. and a 50-minute evening workout that consisted of a warm-up, The P.B.*, 30 minutes of jogging and a cool-down/stretch session.

*The P.B. is 5 sets of 10 of the following: push-ups (on my knees for now), squats, cable rows and lunges on each leg.


I KNOW that a deficit is still a deficit and I'm happy that I still came out on top. What I'm bummed about is letting those little peanut butter candies get the best of me today. I saw my motivational letter in my drawer and actively averted my eyes every time I reached in for another piece of candy. My goals for tomorrow are to stay on track, don't allow myself to buy anything off-plan and to take it easy for the day. I'm all hopped up on workouts and it would be easy to continue that trend tomorrow. My body does need a rest, so I'm just going to do 30-minutes of low-impact cardio after work and possibly do a 30-minute walk during lunch.

Well, that is all for day 3. I already feel better having typed this out and knowing that I have a plan in place to keep from making the same mistake tomorrow.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

Well, Day 1 and 2 are over and I'm happy to say that I have done well. I have had a few hiccups thus far, but nothing too horrendous! I'll get right into the dirty details...

Day 1 (Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010)

Cals eaten: 1677
Cals used (workouts only): 600
Net Cals: 1077
BMR * 1.2 = 1937
Net Cal Deficit: 860

My diet & fitness journal notes for the day: Today's goal met: yes, mood: 6 (out of 8), energy level: 5 (out of 8). "Today was a good first day. Tracking is a bit rough, but I'm sure it'll get easier."

I burned my calories by doing two workouts; one 30 minute 2 mph walk during lunch and a 50 minute evening workout that consisted of a warm-up, 5 grinders* and a cool-down/stretch.

*One grinder = 40 jumping jacks, 1 back yard lap (1/25 of a mile) at highest intensity possible, 40 mountain climbers, another lap, 40 jump ropes, another lap, 4 squat thrusts, and a high-intensity half-lap with the remainder of the lap being recovery.

Day 2 (Monday, Jan. 18, 2010)

Cals eaten: 1745
Cals used (workouts only): 653
Net Cals: 1092
BMR * 1.2 = 1937
Net Cal Deficit: 845

My diet & fitness journal notes for the day: Today's goal met: yes, mood: 6, energy level: 6. "I've felt hungry all day...not a good feeling!"

I burned my calories by doing 3 workouts; one 30 minute lunchtime walk at 2 mph, one low-intensity bellydance dvd for 30 minutes and one high-intensity bellydance dvd for 30 minutes.

I will get into more detail about how I'm hoping to achieve my goals in later posts, but my basic plan is to maintain a certain net calorie deficit per week eating healthy, unprocessed foods. To begin, I calculated my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). You can find a great BMR calculator here. Clicking on the links will reveal a wealth of useful information. I then considered how much weight I wanted to lose. Slow, healthy weight loss is a sure priority, so my goal is to lose 1.5 - 2 lbs. a week. Since a 3500 calorie deficit will equal 1 lb. of weight loss, I am shooting for a calorie deficit of 5250 - 7000 per week. Easy enough? I wish. That is the logical side of weight loss, the emotional side is what gets to me.

Sunday was a pretty great day. I was really proud of myself for getting two workouts in as well as for having a better energy level than I have in the past few weeks. I was very productive around the house, so I know that there are an untold number of calories that were burned during my semi-aggressive cleaning. I felt satisfied with what I was eating and made a conscientious effort to really enjoy my food. I was even able to budget in two glasses of white wine to enjoy with the Mountain Man, or MM (my husband), out by the fire last night.

Monday was, well, acceptable. I woke up feeling dehydrated and headachey, the classic hangover. Apparently, two glasses of wine is above my limit, so I will limit it to one glass per week from now on. I made sure to down an ample amount of water and some tylenol and pressed on with my day. I believe the hungry feeling was a result of my not eating at the correct intervals. I was busy getting the house cleaned and wanted to get just one more thing done before I ate my next snack or meal. I did get all three of my planned workouts in, but I didn't have the energy throughout the workouts that I typically do. Another problem I encountered was that I ate dinner too fast to make it to bible study on time. I will need to plan my Mondays more carefully to avoid that. Finally, I ate every meal today while doing something else, whether that was watching tv, piddling around on the internet or doing honest to goodness work. That will be another food problem that I will be working on.

I am optimistic that tomorrow will be a better day. It will be a test since I'm at work...I tend to eat more poorly there than at home. I am glad that I had two days to "prepare" and, armed with my tools for weight loss, I'm sure I'll have a successful day!

The Temple

Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a magnificent stone structure rising up in front of you. On either side of strong, olive wood doors are two elaborately carved columns. Upon entering this building, you are blinded by the glory of gold overlay on every surface. Intricately carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers decorate all the walls, which are also overlaid with gold. As you continue walking to the back of this temple, you enter the inner sanctuary. There you are greeted by two carved cherubim of olive wood, 15 feet tall. Everything in the inner sanctuary, its walls, floor, ceiling and the alter, are overlaid with gold. Upon the alter, sits a box of acacia wood. The inside and outside are completely overlaid with gold. There are two poles on either side of the box that are resting inside rings, all golden. The cover for the box is pure gold in its entirety with two golden cherubim at each end. You marvel at its beauty and you know you are in the presence of something wonderful.

What I have described for you is the temple that the Lord instructed Solomon to construct for the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Kings 6 and the Ark of the Covenant itself as described in Exodus 25. It was a magnificent temple, carefully constructed as directed. Its interior sanctuary was the most holy place.

Now imagine another structure. You walk up to this decaying building and see moss covering the stone and weeds are growing up through the cracks. The foundation is cracked and crumbling. Carvings are missing from the once resplendent columns. The olive doors are gray with age and have slipped from their hinges. Upon entering, you are assaulted by a dank mustiness and your eyes must adjust to the darkness. Once you find your bearings, you see that the gold overlay on every surface is tarnished and cobwebs hang down in droves. You see rodents skulking about the shadows. You continue on through the building and come to a back room. It is dirty and decaying, with two large statues of cherubim standing that are in a sad state of disrepair. Suddenly, you see a glorious box of gold. The gold is shining, as if new. You can clearly see the carved cherubim at each end of the lid. It is immaculate, as if someone just placed it there.

Have you figured it out yet? The buildings described are one in the same. The first; new and clean, and the second; neglected, abandoned and dirty. The only thing that remains beautiful and constant is the Ark of the Covenant, unchanged in spite of the turmoil around it.

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul tells the Corinthians that their "body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you...So you must honor God with your body." My temple, after years of neglect and mistreatment, is a spitting image of the second one I described. My goal is to return my temple to the glorious state that God's presence deserves. Lack of personal attention, excess weight and lack of care are the cobwebs, rodents and dirt of my temple. My foundation is cracked and I'm crying out for repairs.

My goal for my temple is to lose 60 lbs. by changing my lifestyle and to become an overall healthy person. I will not have unrealistic expectations of getting the walls shining after just a short time. I will peel back each layer of dirt before I attempt to tackle the next. If you've ever read about the cleaning and restoration of ancient works of art, including buildings, you know that the task is carried out carefully and with painstaking precision. The most mild of cleaners is used, so none of the handiwork is damaged in the effort. Replicas of missing components are made by skilled artisans using the methods that would have been practiced originally. I will be patient with myself and take one step at a time. I will not attempt to pressure wash the temple in a day. I will stumble and fall along the way and I will never be able to give Him the temple He deserves, but I will get as close as I can.

This blog will chronicle the physical journey I take as I clear out the temple and restore it to the image God meant for me to have. My reliance is totally on God as I am unable to accomplish this without His help. I will cry out to Him each morning and night, and probably before every meal and workout I do. If you are offended by my reliance on God, I do understand that you may not share my beliefs, but difference in beliefs not open for discussion. I'm sorry, but you can always look away and stop reading. I will not be discussing theology, either, as I'm not as educated in the Word as I should be (I am working on that) and would never be so arrogant as to pretend to know the answers. I'm more than happy to take advice, encouragement and criticism and engage in discussion regarding becoming a healthy person, though!

(For anyone wondering, I am cleaning out my inner sanctuary as well, but that is a personal spiritual journey that I will not blog about, unless it directly relates to my weight loss and fitness goals.)

Post #1

New beginnings...