Despite the aches, I went to the gym in the afternoon and managed to complete my 1 hour of
cardio plus Zumba class :) [Can you tell I'm loving the class?! I can't wait to get my new heart-rate monitor and see how many calories I'm burning ... with the amount that I sweat, I'm hoping it's at least 400 calories!]
So far this week has been great in terms of workouts.
This week I've also been keeping detailed notes about what I'm eating. As I wrote last week, getting back into the swing of things has taken a bit of time, but overall I'm doing quite well. I know that I've been eating properly, but I know there is room for improvement.
There are so many blogs out there about nutrition and diet ... people share their plans and their strategies (not always implementing them though) and others comment and ask for advice. I think the bottom line is that you need to figure out a diet and exercise routine that works for you. The other thing to remember is that change, particularly proper weight loss, takes time. You can't expect the ten pounds you drop in one week on a liquid diet to stay off forever unless you make changes to what you eat/how you exercise for the remaining weeks of the year (your life).
For me, even if I'm on a low-calorie diet, if I don't exercise, the weight won't come off. I'll lose a few pounds, but then I'll stop. I have to exercise. I absolutely have to exercise ... plus watch what I eat. I know some people who can literally eat whatever they want and not gain any weight. I am definitely not one of those people! I also know people who can just cut a 200-300 calories from their diet and start to drop pounds ... again, that's not me.
I have to exercise hard and watch what I eat.
It has taken me time and it has taken a lot of practice, and I still have not perfected my routine. I am, however, getting better.
This week I have been focusing a lot on what I'm eating to make sure I'm getting the right amount of nutrition. I really, really, really need to up my protein intake. I'm getting half the required amount -- the real struggle lies in trying to figure out how to add protein without adding the calories.
According to the NROL4W program that I'm following, I should be eating around 1,800 calories a day (on a regular day when I don't exercise) and about 2,100 on days that I do a hard workout.
Yes, you read those numbers right.
Even if I stuffed myself I don't think I'd be able to eat that many calories. In my mind, 1,200-1,500 calories sounds good to me. The number 1,800 sounds insane ... as does 2,100. In any case, I promised myself that I would trust this process and follow the routine and the nutritional advice as suggested ... but I am struggling. I would love to completely trust the process, but my mind just does not want to accept eating that many calories ... we'll see how it goes. The true test is in the scale I guess.
In the meantime, I'm just watching what I eat. I need to eat more protein and lower my carb and saturated fat count a bit more - they're slightly higher than I'd like.
I guess the weigh-in on Sunday will give me a clue as to how this is working.
very motivating :) I'm planning to start NROLFW in about a month or so (when it's light out in the mornings so I can really devote time in the gym.) Also, very true for me as well- I have to be eating right AND exercising hard or the weight sticks.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic that you are digging the Zumba. I really liked the class I took with Bella. I wish there was a way I could work the cost into my budget but, right now, that's not an option with everything going on with my job situation.
ReplyDeleteI totally know what you mean about finding what works for you. Like you, I have to do both the food and the exercise, not one or the other. They're both mandatory. You must have freaked out when you saw the 1800 calories but honestly that sounds pretty reasonable if you're working out hard. When I started seeing the nutritionist back in 2007 she set my target at 1800. I was heavier than you are, and that was just with walking 30 min a day. So, considering you're smaller than I was and working out much harder, 1800 sounds very reasonable. It's still so hard to wrap our heads around though since it sounds too much. Like you said though...you need to find what works for *you* through trial and error.
We absolutely have to find what works for us. I'm constantly changing my eating patterns, testing new things, all trial and error with myself as the test subject. My husband laughs at me and doesn't care so long as I don't mess with his meals!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with eating enough when I'm trying to lose weight - I feel like I'm eating too much sometimes. But I know from nutritional counselling that if you don't eat enough, your body won't let go of the weight it has. It can be so difficult to get our mind to accept hat though.
Good luck with the new nutrition plan!