alright I did it. A friend of mine who goes by the name InspiredApple over at www.sparkpeople.com sent me a link and told me all about her journey from fat to (still fat) - she's only been there since May of this year, but she says she has learned to hold herself accountable by using some of the tips, videos, and sparkTeams at the site. She thinks I will like it and now that I have actually joined: my SparkName is : September2010, I think I will like the site also.
I figured September2010 was easy for me to remember where I was when I started and when it was that I started. The irony to September for me is that 5 yrs ago I left a relationship and family behind to make something of myself. I am not quite sure I've made anything for myself other than a path of 'what i don't want' but I believe I had to work through some stress, depression, anxiety, and perseverance issues in order to get where I am today. FAT. that is where I am. I weighed myself when I joined tonight and I was at 185 pounds. O MY God! I had no idea. I'm rather embarrassed. But, I am ready to get started and stop procrastinating.
The SparkPeople nutrition guide listed 1310 - 1600 as a guideline for losing weight, however the Livestrong.com nutrition / weight loss guide said for me to lose 2#'s/week, I would need to eat no more than 1298 cals/day. This was based on a Lightly Active lifestyle. So, I changed my calories in at SparkPeople to 1298-1498.
Ironically - my calories for today were 2481. Remember, I'm not supposed to go over 1498. And I haven't exercised, well, not enough to make a difference in 2481 calories. I am being rather naughty tonight knowing that I am starting a new way of living beginning tomorrow, September 1, 2010.
Holy Smokes Batman, I had +5500 gms of sodium and 459 carbs for the day!
This nutrition tracker is the Bomb.
Okay, here is some quick math for you and me:
3500 calories = 1 pound.
I ate 2481 calories today. There are 7 days left in the week (just work with me, okay) and I need to shave off 7000 calories in this coming week in order to lose 2#'s. Assuming I eat 2500 calories/day - this means I must divide 7000 calories by 7 days = this equals out to 1000 calories/day that I must NOT allow my body to consume. Yeck!
Therefore, I must shave off 500 calories of Food, altogether. And I must also workout during the day to eliminate another 500 calories through exercise. The bad part is that this 1000 calorie deficit only brings me down to 1500 calories / day and the Livestrong tracker said in order for me to lose 2#'s/week I must be only consuming 1298 calories. I still need to shave off 200 more calories.
Option A = Eat 1500 calories/day and exercise off 700 calories/day
Option B = Eat 1298 calories/day and exercise off 200 calories/day (this is for added cushion)
So Long Klondike Bars and any other Sugar - I've thought about eating!
