Three days in....

It has been three days since I started my healthy lifestyle change. I'm not going to lie, it is super hard to stick to it. Especially when the people around me aren't changing their health habits. I keep thinking about delicious-but-bad-for-me food and I can't stop thinking about it! I've given in and had some chocolate but for the most part I know I'm eating better than I was a couple weeks ago, like when I ate a whole box of mini powdered donuts for breakfast! Embarrassing to read but I'm committed to doing better and being healthier.

Monday went great! I was so excited because I met all of my nutrition goals (stayed within my calorie limits; carb, fat, and protein levels were good as well) and I got both strength training and cardio in. I even had time to take a test! I felt like I was on a roll!

The next morning I was going to wake up early to exercise. When my alarm went off I stumbled to my phone. I thought my stumbling was from working out the previous day. You know when you haven't worked out in a long time and when you do your muscles get so tight? I thought it was that. Well it wasn't. I had a case of vertigo. Every time I sat up straight or stood up the room would start spinning and I felt like I was going to fall over or puke! Needless to say I didn't go to work or school yesterday. It finally went away around three in the afternoon. I don't know what caused it but I thought maybe my body wasn't ready for such a dramatic change yet.

So.......

I ate!

Not a lot, I was still under 2000 calories but I ate more than I did on Monday. Once I felt better, I decided I could work out as well so I did a Biggest Loser video. I feel so good after I exercise. It's really (really!) hard to get the motivation to actually do it, but once I start I know that it was worth it.

Today I was going to get up early and work out but Mikaela didn't have the best sleep last night.

Guess who else didn't have the best sleep last night?

That's right.......

.......Me!

So instead I slept in a bit and did a mini workout (thanks for the Women's Health DVD Sarah!). I wanted to get another one in tonight but unfortunately I haven't been able to. I did get another test done though!

With my crazy life, one of the ways I've been fitting in exercise is through mini-workouts. You can get a DVD like the one I used, that has mini workouts. These are highly effective, only ten minutes long and I was sweating like a pig! If you don't want to spend any money you can also look up exercises on the Internet that you can do at home or the office. Such as;

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/blofficeworkout.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M38HDCGmhm4

Other things like parking further away, taking the stairs, having good posture (works out your core!), running in place during commercial breaks; are all ways to work in extra calorie-burning activity into your day. Check out http://www.smallstep.gov/index.html for more strategies for integrating healthy habits into your everyday life!

FYI - I'm thinking about making a new blog that is just for this weight loss and healthy lifestyle challenge. I'll let you know when I do! For now let me hear how your first week is going! and don't forget to take your 'before' pictures! I think it would be a wonderful showcase to post all of our before and after pictures!

Let me know how your first week is going!

Do you need a Spark?

My awesome sister-in-law, Sarina, told me about this website

http://www.sparkpeople.com/

it's a FREE website where you can read articles about wellness, nutrition, exercise, and so much more! They have FREE exercise logs and food diaries. It has a variety of health related goals you can choose from. Once you choose a goal it will create an individualized plan for you to help meet your goals!

One great feature of Sparkpeople is their nutrition logger. It's basically a food diary. It has a huge database you can search from and you can add food items that aren't included. It tallies your total calories and calculates whether you meet your targets for calorie consumption, fat totals, carbohydrate totals, and protein totals. It gives you tips to stay on track or improve. An extra special feature is their easy to read graphs that show calories by food (for example, the majority of my calories so far today came from the cheddar cheese in my salad 31%), calories by meal (my lunch is weighing in at 62.9%), and a carb fat protein breakdown.

The last graph is important because you need to be aware of where your calories are coming from. You want the majority of your calories to come from Carbohydrates and protein and fat to be less.

The recommendations are:

• 45% to 65% of calories from Carbohydrates
• 20% to 35% of calories from Fat
• 10% to 35% of calories from Protein

Following these recommendations will ensure you're getting a sufficient intake of essential vitamins and minerals. The way to calculate these totals is easy once you know how! All you need is a calculator and food labels.

For Carbohydrates there are 4 calories per gram. Look at your food label and see how many grams of carbohydrates there are. Now times this by 4. The total is how many calories come from carbohydrates.

For protein there is also 4 calories per gram. However, fat totals 9 calories per gram! That's more than double the calories compared to carbs and protein! It's no wonder when you eat fatty foods you gain weight! But we can use food labels to see how the calories are broken up between carbs, fats, and proteins and make smart food choices following those recommendations.

Long story short-there is so much good information available on the internet. Check out http://www.sparkpeople.com and see if it will work out for you! or Google "food diary" and find something that fits your lifestyle. Keeping a food diary can bring awareness to what you're eating and why. By doing this we can develop strategies to overcome bad eating habits!

Happy Dieting!

15 Pounds in 15 Weeks

I like many of you, want to lose some weight. As much as I want to lose weight and go back to my pre-babies body, it's hard to find the energy and drive to do it. Many of us have responsibilities pulling us every which way and by the end of the day we just want to plop on the couch and eat some chocolate. The other option: waking up early to exercise; isn't appealing when some of us have brand new babies who keep us up all night. The last week I've set my alarm clock earlier so I can wake up and exercise and every morning I hit snooze once....

Twice....

SIX TIMES!

Running out of time to exercise!

I feel that I am finally in the right state of mind to stay committed to working out and eating right. I'm currently going to Weber State pursuing my degree in Health Promotion and every class period I feel guilty for drinking soda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4t8zL6F0c and eating at fast food places. I rationalize my unhealthy behavior. I have to drink soda for the caffeine and I can't drink coffee, I don't have time to eat healthy between school and work, I'd rather sleep an extra ten minutes than eat breakfast, etc. I want to be a health educator and no-one wants to take health advice from a fat inactive person. You wouldn't go to an accountant who's broke, would you?!

That leads us to now. I'm ready to start working hard and losing weight!

Who Wants to Join Me?

I'm starting this coming Monday, February 22. I'm going to weigh myself every Saturday night and measure my progress. I'm going to start a food diary which will include what I eat, when I eat, and what my mood is. I believe this will help to identify the underlying motivation for why I'm eating. I'm going to work out every morning before I start my day; this will ensure that I fit exercise into my day by making it the first thing I do. I am still going to drink soda, but I'm switching to diet. I would like to completely quit but I really do feel that I need the caffeine to get through my LONG days. I'm going to do this for 15 weeks.

By June 5, I plan to have lost 15 Lbs!

I'm going to start by doing the Special K Challenge. http://www.specialk.com/challenge/ It's similar to the slim fast program where you subsitute two of your meals with some of their products. I tried it today and felt good about it. It's a 2 week program, if I follow it and exercise I should be able to lose 6 pounds in 2 weeks! That should give me motivation to keep working hard and lose the remaining 9 pounds.

I want to learn to eat healthy on the go, incorporate exercise into my everyday routine, and to look and feel better in my skin!

Leave me a comment letting me know if you want to work towards a healthier you - with me!