Diario de FatSwatter

Perfil de FatSwatter | Historial de Peso

26 a 30 de 48

Página: Anterior ... 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Siguiente

18 agosto 2015

Good afternoon beautiful people of FS!

I hope everyone is doing well and continuing to stay focused on your goals despite the craziness life throws at us. Today was a win - I told myself what I was going to do and by golly, I was going to do it no matter what! I'm pretty proud of myself for not giving in to temptations when trust me, they are everywhere! The smell of food, for example, is all over campus and when I do my walk during lunch it's all I can do to say no. I decided not to carry cash or my wallet with me so then I couldn't buy anything anyways! This has really helped me.

Also, I've noticed several people frustrated when they do weigh-ins, particularly daily weigh-ins. I just posted something similar to the challenge group I'm running and thought I'd post it in my journal in case someone can gain some insight from it.

Weight Fluctuations - 101
I want to mention a note about weight in general that I think may help some of you. It takes 3500 calories to gain (or lose) a pound. A piece of cake or that chocolate bar won’t make you gain a pound or more overnight unless you were over calories by 3500 calories or more. Instead, the most likely culprit is sodium and water intake, but there are truly a ton of reasons for weight fluctuations. Please don’t concern yourself with these weight changes.

If you’ve noticed your weight is consistently going up and you’ve been under calories, here are some guidelines that may help you get back on track:

Are you drinking enough water? If your body senses you are dehydrated, it will hang on to every little bit it can causing you to seem like you are gaining weight but you really aren’t.
Is your sodium too high? Sodium retains water adding to water weight as well so if you have a high sodium diet, you will need to compensate by drinking even more water.
Ladies, is it that time of the month? Hormonal fluctuations can definitely change weight.
Are you weight training? Muscle mass takes up less space than fat so if you are weight training and building muscle, you could be the same weight or slightly heavier but yet fit in smaller clothes. This is why it’s important to also measure your arms, hips, waist, thighs, and bust periodically so you can see changes the scale won’t tell you.
Are you stressed? Too high level of stress can make our bodies go haywire including our weight fluctuations. If you are overly stressed, perhaps practicing meditation through stretching/yoga or even running will help. You can also practice deep breathing techniques to help you feel better and be able to cope more effectively.
Are you eating enough? Remember, your body needs a certain amount of calories just to breathe, keep your heart beating, and function during the day if you do absolutely nothing. If you are eating below the number of calories you need to sustain your body, your body thinks it’s in starvation mode. Therefore, you must eat enough to not just sustain your body but keep it running efficiently. Many people think eating 1200 calories a day will help them lose weight, but each person is different and most likely, 1200 is way too low for the average person. There are many BMR calculators out there to figure out how many minimum calories you should have and they all vary depending on the formula used, but for the most part, the results are usually within 200-300 calories. Here’s one I use: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator
Are you on medication? Certain medications like steroids or anti-depressants (and even some birth control pills) are known for causing weight fluctuations.

While this is not an exhaustive list, I just wanted to point out that weight can change by a multitude of factors and every day will most likely not show a decrease. I just wanted you all to know that the scale is not the only thing that matters here. I realize some people have a hard time seeing a number every day which is why I implore you to look at the number from a different angle. It IS after all, just a number. A number does not define who you are, how awesome you are, what great things you are doing to push yourself to a healthy lifestyle, or how good of a person you are for staying focused on your goals.

Instead, focus on the things the scale doesn’t tell you. These are called NSVs or Non-Scale Victories. What positive things have happened to you since you began your weight loss journey? Have you lost a pant size? Have you received compliments? Have you turned down something you normally can’t resist? How can you use those NVSs as extra motivation to help you push yourself when that scale doesn’t budge?

(6 comentarios)

17 agosto 2015

Hello FS!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday so far! This week I'm much more energetic for some reason. I'm not sure why but I'll take it! Lots of things happened over the weekend. Through advice of a friend on myfitnesspal, I decided to try mason jar salads for the first time! I made two of them - strawberry/walnut/chicken and black bean/corn salsa salad. I put them in my diary in case anyone wants to see what's in them. I had the strawberry chicken salad just now - my first mason jar salad - and it was WONDERFUL! Nothing was soggy, the lettuce was crisp, and the fruit soaked up some of the flavor from the dressing making it even more yummy!

In other news, my boyfriend is hanging in there. We went to Target and Walmart over the weekend to buy supplies for the mason jar salads. I dropped him off at the front of the store while I parked. Once inside, I found those scooter carts for him to use even though he didn't like me taking one on account of him. Luckily, there were plenty at both stores so he didn't feel guilty but I wasn't about to have him hobbling all over those huge stores on crutches! Can you imagine how sore he'd be? He's stubborn though. We went to Panera Bread and I once again, dropped him off in front only for him to stand on one foot balancing with his crutches while he attempted to hold open the door for some people. I was walking over towards him when I heard one lady say "no, you go in first - we'll hold the door open for you". He tried to insist they go first but that lady insisted harder! I must admit, it was rather cute him getting told by a stranger to let them hold the door open for him. That is one of the characteristics I love about him - he's so considerate of others! However, good for that lady!!! :)

One last thing, I've been tracking several things for the past several weeks using a Google Sheet and it's been really successful. I decided to create a 2-week challenge using the things I've been tracking. It's called "Track It or Back Track" if you are interested in joining. It starts in a few hours and so far we have quite a few people. It is a daily accountability thing although I know some people may not be able to do it daily for life reasons. I thought since it helped me, it might help someone else so feel free to join and check it out. :)

Enjoy your day!

(5 comentarios)

13 agosto 2015

I LOVE this community so so much! Many of you have sent me such sweet private messages over the last few days that have really brightened my day! I have been trying to do that more myself although I can't always send as many as I'd like!

UPDATE on Boyfriend's Knee: Many of you may recall my boyfriend has been having trouble with his knee. He was supposed to have a follow-up appointment on Tuesday but that morning he fell in a 2-ft hole at work that the hired landscapers simply put a piece of sod over! He had no idea it was there and he was doing his routine job that requires him to go back around the buildings in the common areas to pick up trash. This hole was about 50 yards from the Tennis Court and was right behind a building unit where children play. Needless to say, his knee is in a LOT more pain now than it ever was! The good news is, workers comp is covering his injury but he's on light duty restrictions, has a hinged knee brace, and has to use crutches.

In Other News: On top of running him around to the doctor and getting his knee looked at, yesterday we had to go to court to legally change his name to the name he's been going by all his life since his parents divorced. His mother changed his and his sister's last name to her maiden name in the early 80s but due to differences between state laws, CA did not require her to officially change it through the court. However, in TX in order to get a TX driver's license, he has to have his name changed because his birth certificate shows his old name even though his social security card says his correct one. It was a pain and a lot of red tape but we finally got his name changed yesterday! When the judge asked him why he wanted to change his name, he said "Your honor, this is the name I've been called all my life and is my mother's maiden name. I am not known by the name on my birth certificate". The judge replied "Sounds like a good reason to me, Request has been approved" before slamming his gavel.

I must say, it was an interesting experience being in court. We were in batches so others witnessed his name change too. It was really interesting (and sad) to hear some of the heartbreaking stories of people in a lot worse situations than me! Because this was a name change, we had to go through family court which of course deals with child custody issues. I felt really sad for a couple of families in particular because of the situation they were in.

School News: For those that may remember, last week was brutal with two research papers due. I just got my grade back for one of them - the one I was really worried about - and it was a 96%! I'm really happy with that all things considering! I haven't heard back from the other research paper yet so hopefully I did well on that one too. I did give some feedback in one of the classes which my professor surprisingly took well. I was worried about sharing my thoughts simply because I know some professors take things way too personally but I'd rather give honest feedback rather than it be sugar-coated because that doesn't do anything to help make the course better. I'm planning on giving feedback in the other class today or tomorrow.

Health UPDATE: Guess what?! Despite all this craziness I'm still less pounds today than I was last week! I cannot believe I'm 206.6 this morning! When I look back and think about how I used to be around 240 pounds I realize I'm not that woman anymore! It's such a refreshing feeling making me feel that much more motivated to keep going!!!

I'm curious about what motivates you to keep going? Is it pictures? Is it stories? Is it fitting into smaller clothes? Is it seeing your progress?

(2 comentarios)

10 agosto 2015

Hello my FatSecret friends and community!

This is a new week and I am happy to report that despite how crazy last week was, I still managed to lose another pound. It goes to show you that while stress can be a huge factor in not losing weight, if you stay focused you can mitigate the negative effects of stress!

Last week I had two major research papers due that thankfully, I was able to finish but it was not easy! One of them nearly gave me a heart attack after finding the document on my hard drive and realizing it was only 33% complete! Apparently without realizing, I was updating it in Google Drive instead of my computer and after digging around for an hour, I finally found it! I would have had to write about 8 pages from memory if I didn't find it - thank you higher power!!!

This week I'm going to do several things differently that I've noticed about myself since I've been losing weight.

I feel rushed in the mornings. Part of the reason for this is because I'm packing my lunch and getting breakfast ready at the same time plus of course getting presentable for work. Therefore, I'm going to develop a new habit this week of packing my lunch ahead of time and having it all ready to go!
I have been getting exhausted around 2-3 pm more than usual. I believe it is because I have just come back from walking during my lunch break and then eating a "heavy" type meal. This week, I'm going to try something different. I'm going to mix it up and have hearty salads instead and see if that helps.
I haven't been logging my food like I want. As many of you know, I am members of this community as well as MFP. Lately, I've been logging everything twice but have been finding it extremely time consuming. I like seeing the differences between platforms and I don't want to give up one or the other due to having awesome friends in both. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Any suggestions?

During your weight loss journey, what are some things you've noticed that may be hindering your success? What are you going to do about them?

By the way, I stumbled across another website that shows FREE videos (all kinds of videos) similar to YouTube called DailyMotion I thought I'd shared. As I was browsing the website, I found this amazing 1 minute ab challenge I want to try when I get home! PopSugar Fitness is someone I definitely want to follow - lots of awesome stuff!

Link Below
1 Minute Ab Challenge

(9 comentarios)

04 agosto 2015

I have a short break and wanted to say hello and Happy Tuesday (albeit a little late). I thought I'd share a little thing that happened today. :)

It is not uncommon for me to hear multiple conversations from students I pass while trekking the nearly 1 mile walk to my office from where I park.

Today; as I was walking during my lunch break, two ladies were walking beside me one of whom was VERY concerned and annoyed that her roommate keeps taking her clothes. The other girl, attempting to console her, blurted out "doesn't she shop for her own clothes?" to which the first girl said "no, she has no money".

The conversation quickly turned to "oh that's so sad, maybe we should help" to "but we don't have a car" to "I just want my clothes back even though some of them I gave them to her because I don't wear them anymore".

The consoling girl asked "is she taking the ones you didn't give her?" and the original girl suddenly exclaimed as if ON FIRE "OMG I DON'T REMEMBER WHICH ONES I GAVE HER".

So this whole time, I'm trying desperately not to belly laugh because I didn't want them to know I was "listening" to them (even though it wasn't hard to do - they were LOUD) but oh my word, what I would give to have that kind of problem! Grown up problems stink, let's go back in time! Plus, I loved tie-dye and bangs that were 4 inches high! :) I just had to share!!

On a plus note, I'm meeting my exercise goals so far. I still have way too much to do school-wise but have an outline and about 2 pages complete of one of the papers. Today, I want to write another 2 pages at least and do the assignment that's due tomorrow. Then tomorrow, do the other assignment that's due and write another 2 pages of the paper I'm working on. I don't do well switching topics back and forth so I'm just going to have to write one paper at time. However, I WILL get it done.

I hope you all are staying strong and focused yourself! Keep it up! :)

(3 comentarios)

Peso Histórico de FatSwatter

Ver la Historia Completa