How to Catch Yourself From Falling Off Your Weightloss Plan

Lately I have been really screwing up. I had my first day that I went over my maintenance calories since June just a few days ago. I have gone over my goal calories a few times, but never over my maintenance calories. That is really bad. On top of going over, I was majorly slacking on working out. I was starting to hear myself tell myself the same excuses I used to say when I wasn't serious about losing weight. 
I did the worst thing I could've possibly done, I stepped on the scale. Rather than giving me the push I thought it would to get in the right direction, I immediately felt defeated and like all my hard work the past few weeks had gone down the drain. I even thought about going to eat something! How terrible is that? Luckily, there was still a little voice of wisdom in my head that said simply "Don't Stop!" . I told myself, you know what, just because the scale says I gained 2 pounds it doesn't really mean I gained two pounds. Let me elaborate... my body all together weighed two pounds more, but that doesn't mean I gained two pounds. That would be impossible since I only barely went over my maintenance calories one day and just slacked a little on working out. I probably have a bunch of junk stuck in my digestive system because I was stuffing myself with carbs.
So what am I going to do to reverse this? Yesterday, I got in a good one hour workout that burned a whopping 770 calories. I used that extra food I had eaten the day before as fuel to get in a good workout.  I have to admit that eating more does give me more energy the next day. I still ended up eating over my goal calories yesterday, but not by much. Now, today I am going to eat lightly and very healthy. I will make sure that I get at least 100 oz of water in as well. My next official weigh in is on Saturday and I want to make sure that my day or two of weakness doesn't result in a gain for my weigh in. My goal is to lose a pound a week.
It's always good to have goals, but I think sometimes we take them too literal. For instance, " I MUST lose 2 pounds this week or I'm going to cry!". What if you lost 1.5 pounds that week? Is that not worthy of a pat on the back? I think it is. Sometimes we need to look at things in a bigger pictures. I am not talking months or years, I am talking life. We have one life. Think about how much weight you can lose before your 40th birthday or if you are 40, think how much better you will look at your 50th! I have mini goals, but if  I don't meet them, I just move on to the next and I always think about the big picture which is life. I still have the rest of my life ahead of me and that is the real time-frame I have to reach any goal.

The best advice I can give is to always find a way to turn a negative into a positive. For me, I think it's engrained in my DNA since I have been doing this my entire life. I slip up sometimes, but I generally tend to find a silver lining in everything.

Now catch yourself from falling off your plan and stick too it! You're the only one that can keep yourself on your plan.

10 pounds in 10 weeks

First off, I want to point out that you will most likely NEVER see a book with that as the title. I mean really, who wants to wait a whole 10 weeks to lose a measly 10 pounds? It's not a very alluring title and definitely doesn’t satisfy the need for instant results. However, that’s how long it took me to lose 10 pounds. I started changing the way I thought about food and incorporated exercise into my plan to change my lifestyle on June 8^th, 2013. It’s now August 20^th, 2013 and I have finally lost the first 10 pounds.

Being a chronic yo-yo dieter, losing this first 10 pounds is not a new feeling to me. Many times in the past I would take losing 10 pounds as a “well that’s good enough” stopping point. There are a few problems with that fuzzy logic. First, when I started “dieting” I had a goal to lose 40-50 pounds not 10 pounds. That means I didn’t actually meet any kind of goal, yet I was using this small triumph as an excuse that I achieved something. Second, you can’t simply stop when you get to a goal. There is no stopping. This is your new life and your new relationship with food an exercise. If you want to stop, then you will actually rewind and go back to the body you had before (or even worse!). Third, if you  think that you deserve some kind of body breakthrough because you lost 10 pounds, you are in for a rude awakening. Losing your first 10 pounds won’t suddenly get rid of your thigh cellulite, you won’t be able to feel amazingly confident in a bikini, and you won’t have a 6 pack. The first ten pounds is going to be different for everyone depending on how much they have to lose. For me, my first 5 pounds made a significant impact on my back (Click here to see the picture) . I honestly had no idea that is where my fat would mostly be lost from. It was a nice surprise that I welcomed and embraced. I can assume that with continuing to work out I will eventually have substantially less cellulite in my legs. I know that when I am around 145 pounds I feel relatively confident in a bikini, but I may feel confident at a higher weight. Confidence is a feeling which means I can’t directly relate it with any specific weight. There are some women who are tiny and are still too self-conscious to wear a bikini and there are also larger women who radiate tons of confidence in their swimsuits. Be realistic in what you can expect to gain from the 10 pounds that you have lost. I haven’t even lost a jean size yet. I remember someone once told me that the difference between jean sizes is 10 pounds. I now consider that a myth. We are all made up differently and we should embrace what we can’t change. There’s no reason to walk around hating yourself. It will only bring you down and everyone around you.

So, why did it take me 10 weeks to lose 10 pounds? Well, the short and sweet of it is that I wanted to make sure I was making a lifestyle change. It is going to take me a longer time to lose weight but I am much more confident that it will stay off this time. I have deprived myself of very little. There have been many times that I have passed on cake, pizza, and other fatty foods. Sometimes it was easy to pass and other times I had to really hone in on my self-control.  There have also been some times in these past ten weeks that I have allowed myself those very same foods. I wouldn’t binge or constitute it as a “cheat meal” or “cheat day”. I simply allowed myself to have a smaller portion than I would normally. I would also consciously think about whether using my calories for the day towards this particular item would mean I would feel hungry later. I would consider the nutrition that I would be missing out on by using my calories towards a sugar filled cupcake. I would think of another, healthier, food item with the same calories and determine if I should just tell myself now that I could have that later in exchange for not eating this particular item now. The key is to be completely conscious of what you are eating. Think of the implications it will have on not only your ability to lose the weight but also on your overall health.

Exercise is something I have always had mixed feelings for. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I think it is so pointless. I finally thought long and hard and made the decision that I was going to have to include exercise in my life. I thought of it this way, I drive to work to a desk job, drive home and sit on the couch to watch T.V. The only time I was even moving was to go from one place I was sitting to another place I was sitting! I don’t completely blame myself. This is what society has done. My thought process led me to thinking about the fat people in scooters in the movie Wall-E. It’s sad, but parts of that movie aren’t as far-fetched as I once thought. Just look around. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to work out every day or I would give up on it. Rather than saying to myself “I must workout 3-4 times with week or I’m a failure!” I said “I’m just going to work out whenever I can and quit making excuses of why I can’t workout”. Basically, I make an attempt to work out after work every day except if I worked out the day before. Some weeks I only work out twice and other weeks I work out as much as four times. My workouts are normally 45-60 minutes long and I put in a very good effort. If you are going to work out less, then you really need to make the best of it . My workouts vary depending on my mood. I do a mixture of  High Intensity Interval Training, Zumba, Biking, and house cleaning. Yes, I said house cleaning. I was so sedentary that vigorous house cleaning can burn quite a few calories. For the most part I don’t count house cleaning as an actual exercise but if I know I will be cleaning for a good two hours, I will put on my heart rate monitor and make an additional effort to clean at a quicker rate or throw a few hundred jumping jacks in or even sprint between tasks. Since I have been working out for 10 weeks now, I make my goals based off of what I know I am capable of. My goal this month is to work out 13 times and to burn more calories than I did last month. I have a free app on my phone called Cardio Trainer that helps me keep track. I’ve worked out 9 times so far this month so I still need to get 4 workouts in before the end of the month. I am going to make every effort I can to make one of those workouts be tonight. If I can’t do it for some reason my world isn’t over. I will still have 10 more days left in the month to get it in. The main point is to quit making excuses and make a real effort to get your work out in. When you do get the chance to workout make sure you are giving it all you’ve got! 

I believe to be successful you must first have the knowledge required and believe in what you are doing. You may want to check out some of the books I have been reading which are shown on the right of my page. Eat to Live, The China Study and Salt, Sugar, Fat have all made a huge impact on how I think about food.  If anything I have said here has helped you, please don’t be shy! Leave me a comment!

Progress Picture and Update!

June 10th, 2013 was the date that I said enough with this! I am going to stop "trying" to lose weight and start losing weight period. I started up my Lazy Girl Diet Instagram , took my before picture and haven't looked back. Instagram and the #fitfam have proved to be one of the best support systems so far. It's inspiring and motivational to scroll through the pictures on there. I may have to make an entire blog post about it in the future. For now, I would like to share with you my progress thus far. It's been just over 5 weeks since June 10th. I've already lost 1.5" on each thigh, 0.5" around my waist and I can see a significant difference in my body. I've lost 5 pounds and definitely gained some muscle because my body fat percentage has gone down.  I don't know what I started with, but it is now 36.8% which is obviously still way too high. Below is the picture I posted on instagram. Wow, what a difference 5 pounds can make when it is the right 5 pounds. It is apparent that I lost fat and gained muscle! I couldn't be happier with this 5 week progress.

Onward I go! P.S. This is the book I'm reading right now (Click it and you can read the first few pages on Amazon!):

Post-Workout Meals: Why They are Important

I have really been getting into weight lifting. More specifically, I am enjoying doing at-home dumbbell training. I should actually say that I have really been getting back into weight lifting. You see, when I was 14-18 years old and in shape, I LOVED weight lifting. While many of my friends were taking dance classes I opted for weight training classes. Part of the reason was that I am just not very coordinated and I would probably embarrass myself. If you saw me do Zumba you would probably laugh so hard that you would crack a rib. I know that I look ridiculous , but that's why I only let my dog watch ( he doesn't judge! hehe. ) So, with that little back story out of the way...let me get to what  I really wanted to talk about in this post. Like I said,  I have been doing dumbbell training and that's provoked me to wonder if I am getting enough protein and other nutrients that muscles desire. That thought led me to post-workout meals. I already eat my dinner after I workout, but I am wondering if I am really giving those muscles what they are asking for. One reason I questioned this is because a lot of the time I feel way too run down the next day.

    According to BodyBuilding.com , there are some important nutrients to get not only after your workout, but before and while working out . In order to stay on the topic at hand, we'll just talk about Post-Workout Meals.

Protein is important because it is essential for tissue growth and repair. The amount you intake will depend on your own body and what you are trying to achieve. According to this calculator , a 191 pound person would consume 122 grams for endurance training, 156 grams for strength and power training and 174 for weight gain or weight loss training. This amount of protein can be a little hard for someone like me who doesn't care too much for red meats and is trying to cut down on animal proteins. That's when the help of protein shakes and bars come handy. There's multiple types of protein supplements but the most recommended is Whey Protein. It's rich in BCAA's, digests quickly, blends easily and is highly available. Recent research shows that a mixture of slow and fast digesting proteins may be best. An example would be Whey protein and Casein.

BCAA's (A.K.A. Branch Chain Amino Acids) are the building blocks of protein and muscle growth. You should intake about 4-8 grams before and after your workout or just do 10 grams after ( I use Amino-X by BSN Supplements). BCAA's are simple amino acids that form muscle tissue. They must be present in the body for muscle growth. BCAA's are important because when you are working out at a high intensity, your body will deplete your glycogen storage and send a signal to stop protein synthesis. You do not want that to happen. It's called making your body catabolic. BCAA's can reverse this effect and let your body continue with protein synthesis. The result is better muscle gain, quicker recovery and greater performance.

Fast Carbs (Optional) Now this is what  I think I have been missing and what has been leading me to extreme exhaustion the next day (I've overslept 2 hours and was late to work!) . Blood sugar and glycogen is low after you workout. If you are dieting while working out, you may have even gone into your reserves. Rather than worrying about building you muscles, your body want to level out your blood sugar and replenish glycogen. Ingesting 50-75 grams of high-glycemic carbs post workout will help spike insulin, spare your protein and speed recovery. Some examples would be a potato or  fruit. Take advantage of this time that you "need" fast carbs and have a little treat for getting your workout done. Yes, chips and white bread would fall in this category, but you just worked out and you're trying to be healthy so don't use this as an excuse to eat junk!

Changes to my Diet Plan

 

I am incorporating Advocare products in my diet again. I am also going to follow their eating plan the best I can. I am somewhat following the 24 day challenge, but without the cleanse phase and I am not using all of their products. Below, I am going to give you a break down of what my day today will be like.

8:00 am : Spark and Color packet of MNS Max 3
8:30 am: GNC Lean Shake
10:30 am: Apple with 1/2 packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter
12:15 pm: Color Packet of MNS Max 3 
12:45 pm: Prepared lunch consisting of a pita pocket filled with canned chicken breast, romaine lettuce and red onion. Also a veggie salad with low cal dressing. Both White Packets of MNS Max 3
4:00 pm : 1/2 cup of Red Grapes and 14 raw almonds
5:45 pm: Pre-workout N.O. Xplode mixed with BSN Amino X (I mix them because I think N.O. Xplode is gross. I also use these because my Fiance bought them and they are just sitting on the top of my fridge)
6:15 pm : Cardio Zumba workout for 45 minutes
7:15 pm: Dinner of 4 oz All Natural Chicken Breast  with mixed veggies, black beans, and pico de gallo. I take my Omega-3's at this time as well. CoQ10, Fish Oil and Flaxseed Oil. I also take muscle recovery supplements such as L-Arginine and L-Glutamine at this time.
Throughout the day: Drink Water constantly. I probably drink easily over 100 ounces of water a day. 

So, that's my little improvised version of the plan advocare uses. Now below I will show you what they say to do. They consider this the "Max Phase" in the 24 Day Challenge:

30 minutes before breakfast: MNS Color Pack and Advocare Spark (optional: Catalyst and ThermoPlus)
Breakfast: Advocare Meal Replacement Shake
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
30 minutes before lunch: MNS Color Pack (optional: Catalyst and Carb-Ease Plus)
Lunch: Both MNS White Packs. A protein, Veggie and Complex Carb
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
Immediately before dinner: Optional Carb-Ease Plus ( only take once a day)
Dinner: Omegaplex pills , Protein, Veggie and Complex Carb
Snack: a small amount of one of the 24 day challenge approved foods
Bedtime: Optional Catalyst
Throughout the Day: Advocare recommends the following equation to figure out how much water you should be drinking:

Body Weight (in pounds) divided by 2 = ounces of water you should consume per day. So, for me that is 188/2 =  94 ounces of water per day. It sounds hard, but once you start doing it, it is second nature to constantly have a water bottle by you.

So, as you can see, it’s pretty close to the Advocare plan. I’m just using some things I have on hand rather than all of their products.

Here's to hoping I get the quick (but healthy) results I am searching for!

Why you Shouldn't Trust the Scale

Of course, there are quite a few reasons you shouldn't use the scale alone as a tool to gauge your progress. However, I am only going to talk about one of those reasons. My scale was literally lying to my face. I was using one of the old style scales and it would give me different readings. I got tired of it acting up, so I went and bought a snazzy new digital scale. I also had suspicions because every time I would be weighed on a doctor scale it said I weigh more. Well, it turns out that my old scale was being too kind and was telling me that I weigh 6 pounds less than I really do. That doesn't mean that I didn't still lose those three pounds last week. It does mean that my starting weight was 6 pounds higher. Talk about a low blow. My starting weight is actually 193 pounds and I am now 190 pounds.  Rather than 187 and 184. Yes, it really sucks but it doesn't mean anything when I think about it. If I hadn't found out soon enough then it may have affected me more drastically . Even then, I still have my progress pictures and my measurements to fall back on. Those will never lie to me! So the moral of the story is, gauge your progress using mutliple tools and you are less likely to go awry when one gets messed up or is less than your desired result. You can also gauge it on how you feel as well. I took pictures, measurements, and I'm using the scale. I also feel so much better already.

Week One Weigh In and Update

Hey guys! I've been doing great with my plan! I slipped a little on Father's Day but I am pretty sure I actually stayed within my calories at the end of the day. Saturday night I basically drank most of my calories but I didn't use being drunk as an excuse to eat everything under the moon to "soak up" the alcohol when I was feeling a little sick. My new Zumba game came on Friday so even after making cake pops for 3.5 hours I got my workout in and only ate one cake pop. I kicked butt and burned over 600 calories. It felt really good.  So I think I did pretty well over the weekend even though I did not log my calories.  I still kind of counted them in my head though.
    I did my week one weigh in on Saturday Morning and I am down three pounds!! Wahoo. Also, A non-scale victory is that I have more energy, I don't feel bloated half of the time and I swear I feel a little firmer in some areas from doing Zumba! I am so excited to continue. Here's a little comparison picture for you:

See you guys soon! Here's a link to the Zumba I got for my Wii. They also have it for X-Box Kinnect.

The Waist Trimmer Belt that makes me SWEAT!

Since I have started working out I have definitely become more interested in all of the things that come with that world. New workout clothes, supplements, tools to perform better, etc. Back in October I purchased a waist trimming belt. I used it a few times and was pretty pleased with the sweat that it produced. Now that I have used it even more I can definitely say that I recommend it. The particular one that I purchased was the Bracoo Adjustable Waist Trimmer Belt, One Size, Black from Amazon. Currently, it is $11.70 and ships free if you are an Amazon Prime Member. Here's what it looks like:

After doing 30-45 minutes of Zumba while wearing this belt, I have a ton of sweat in my mid-section. One of these days, I will have to take a picture of my shirt afterwards. There is a huge sweat mark under the belt because of all the sweat it makes. I love working out wearing the belt because I know it is working and it is not uncomfortable at all. Getting all of this sweat out is getting rid of water weight. There is a pretty good article explaining all of the benefits better than I could. Click here to see it! If you have any questions, just let me know .

Weight Goal Chart

Hey everyone! I made a Weight Goal Chart today to help me see if I am on track. I am using this strictly as a guide since I am more interested in what my body looks like and how many inches I've lost rather than a particular weight. I think this will help me see if I am on track along with taking pictures and measurements. I might pick a few weights in here to be a mini goal. Also, one of my close friends is looking for people to do a 5K Run in September and I told her if I am in better shape I will do it with her. It's time to get serious!
Here's my chart in case you want to take a peak!

My New Plan

So far I have actually stuck to my plan. I have worked out according to plan and I have been eating well too.

Here's my new (more aggressive) plan :

Currently, my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 1,980 calories. This is how many calories I would burn if I did nothing but lay in bed all day . If you search the web for BMR calculators, you will get mixed readings from each one. I am basing my numbers off the one on Caloriecount.com because that is what I am using to count calories as well. Losing weigh is supposedly a simple mathematical equation. Burn 3,500 calories and you will lose a pound. You can burn these calories by either working out or by in-taking (eating) less calories than you would naturally burn that day. My new plan is using a mixture of both. Now, keep in mind that this is just going to be the simple mathematical version of what I am doing. Beyond mathematics, I am making other changes which I will likely talk about in future posts. Just to give you a run down, they include water intake, how I look at food, social networking, changing the food pyramid and other lifestyle changes.

Ok, So here is the raw math version of it:

Current weight is 187 pounds as of 6/08/13. I am 25 years old and 5'9".
I will eat no more than 1,600 calories EVERY day.  By doing this alone, I will save myself from 380 calories per day.
I will exercise 6 out of the 7 days of the week. My one rest day will be the weekend day that my Fiance has off work. My excercise goal will be to burn a minimum of 420 calories. I just purchased a Heart Rate Monitor with a Calories burned calculator. Here is a link to the particular one that I purchased, Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor (Purple/Pink) . They have it in "manly" colors as well. I wanted to get this because I am only cheating myself if I am using an app that says I am burning way more calories than I actually am. Also, using a heart rate monitor will help you keep your heart rate "in the zone" to get the most out of your workout.
Between food intake and calories burned from working out, my daily goal is 800 calories burned. If I happen to eat a little extra that day and go over my 1,600 calories, I better work it off somehow. Also, I picked 1,600 as my magic number even though Calorie Count told me to do 1,470. Why? Well, every time I shoot for 1,470 I end up closer to 1,600 and then feel like crap for going over. So, instead of feeling crappy about that  I am shooting for 1,600. You know what is funny about that? These past couple days, I have been closer to 1,500 anyways!
So, I will be burning 800 calories per day , except on my rest day which will be 380 calories. That adds up to a total of 5,180 calories burned per week. 5,180/3,500 equals 1.48 pounds per week lost. For easy math ( and hopeful thinking) I rounded that up to 1.5 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 4 weeks = 6 pounds. 1.5 pounds times 12 weeks = 18 pounds . This idea started 3 days ago on 6/8/13, so I am basing everything off that date.
 Here are my mini goals:
Current weight of 187 - 18 pounds = 169 pounds on August 31st
169 pounds - 18 pounds = 151 pounds on November 23rd
151 pounds - 6 pounds = 145 pounds on December 21st < that is my goal weight. Either 145 or a size 7.
That means I will look good just in time for Christmas Family Pictures!  Wahoo!

The only thing I need to remember to do is to adjust my allowable calories as I lose the weight. My BMR will lower and I will have to either eat less calories or burn more through working out. Here's to hoping I can stick to it this time!

What I still buy from Advocare after the 24 day Challenge is over

Hey everyone!

I've been eating pretty well this week and I've been a little more active than normal. I still feel like I need to get back into doing Zumba though and I want to try going hiking every weekend. It's perfect hiking weather in AZ right now! We are going to Sedona over Valentine's Day weekend to check out possible wedding spots. I hope to be 10 pounds less by then so I need to really get on it.

I wanted to share with you what Advocare products I still continue to buy even after I failed the 24 Day Challenge.



Advocare Meal Replacement Shake in Berry. $44.95 for 14 pouches. The way I look at it is about $4.00 a day for breakfast (that's including about $10 for shipping).  This is hands down THE BEST meal replacement shake I have ever had. I even bought more because I found myself missing them. It gets the job done. Here's a short list of why I love it.

1. Tastes Amazing!
2. Only 220 Calories
3. I actually feel full most of the time. Occasionally I will have a banana within an hour of drinking the shake.
4. 24 grams of protein (Very important when your diet mainly consists of veggies and fruit)
5. Packed with tons of vitamins
6. Fits in with my on-the-go lifestyle

There really is nothing that I do not like about this meal replacement shake. I tried the Vanilla one and all I can say is "Bleh!". Don't do it. I couldn't even finish half the box. I have heard if you mix PB2 (a powder form of peanut butter) in with it, it will taste better. I'm just not willing to dish out the money for it. You just need 9 oz of water and a shaker bottle in order to make the shake.



Advocare Spark Energy Drink . $22.95 for 14 pouches. This is a great replacement for coffee and it gives you tons of energy. It tastes better than a lot of the energy drinks available in cans. I am a coffee lover though so I do find myself missing coffee and have actually been drinking coffee since I ran out of Spark. They offer it in a variety of flavors. Seven total flavors actually. I have tried a few different ones, but I find that I like the Fruit Punch the best. That is quite surprising for me since I normally hate fruit punch flavored drinks. If you feel like you never have energy to do anything, much less exercise, you may want to grab a box of Spark.  I buy the box since I like the convenience of grab and go individual bags. Oh and something super important that I should mention is that Spark is sugar free and only 45 calories. Just think of how many calories you would save in one week by substituting your current caffeine fix with Advocare Spark!



Advocare Catalyst. $31.50 for 90 capsules.  While I do not feel that I have exercised enough to really merit loving Catalyst, I can say that I like the idea of what it does. Typically you would take 3 capsules about 10-15 minutes before working out and without food. It's an amino acid dietary supplement that supports muscle tone and enhances strength and energy. When you are a calorie restricted diet, you can actually start losing some of your muscle mass if you aren't eating often enough. Catalyst will help you preserve your muscle mass, repair your muscles, stay focused, and give you a boost while you're working out. The few times that I have remembered to take it before working out, I have felt like it's made me more focused and more willing to persevere and work out longer.

There's tons of Advocare products that I would like to try in the future . When I do, I will definitely let you know how they work out for me. I'm not affiliated with Advocare and I bought everything with my own money. However, if I really get into using their products in the future, it's not out of the question that I could become affiliated. The opinions about are honest and I believe them to be true.

If you were to try just one thing from Advocare, I would recommend trying the meal replacement shake.
Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you soon!