So I am in the final week of the Biggest Loser competition at my gym. I have been in first place pretty much all along. Last week, someone nudged me out. If you follow my blog you know that I have been having some difficulty getting the scale to move.
After last Thursday's weigh in and realizing that I was no longer in 1st place, I kicked it into HIGH gear...really eating lite....lots of cardio. Well, sign me up for Mensa, cause this girl genius has screwed herself even WORSE!!! Oh, yeah, I said WORSE. Today I weighed and was up 2 lbs. from Thursday. I have been maintaining a 1200 - 1500 calorie deficit since Thursday. I am eating the target calories but exercising a LOT more.
...And I gained 2 lbs...
So today I had my trainer look at my BB program on her computer and see if she has any helpful hints. First of all, eating so LITE has bitten me on the butt. Apparently for a diet to be considered LOW FAT you consume 20% of your calories in FAT. Well, I've been getting 10 - 12%. So I have not been getting enough FAT. Wow...can't even believe I'm typing that "out loud"...not enough FAT. Who knew?
Secondly, I am getting WAYYYYYY too much sodium. Now here's the deal folks...my food log is pretty darned accurate. I weigh and measure almost everything at home. I'm also going over on my carbs. (Referencing the daily pie graph you can bring up under the "Nutrition" tab of the body bugg.)
So, here's the plan for the next 6 days until the competition is over...I'm eating chicken breasts, fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, and really watching my carbs. I'm going to drink a ton of water to try and help flush some of that sodium out of my system. I'm going to try like hell to avoid eating out, because there's so much sodium that I can't control.
I came home from the gym and took 2 bags of chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them on the grill. I figured having 9 lbs. of cooked chicken breasts in the fridge would be a sure-fire bet that I don't slack and eat something "easier" because what's easier than that?!?
Now, on to my Couch_To_5K training. Today I started Week 4. I had to download the remaining podcasts because honestly, I didn't think I'd make it to Week 3, let alone past that. Well, Week 4 scared me. No longer are the running and walking intervals equal. The walks are 1/2 of the run. This week was warm up, 3 minutes run, 90 second walk, 5 minutes run, 2.5 minutes walk, repeat intervals and close with a cool down.
UGH...Today was the first day I didn't "complete" the day, but I'm ok with that. I actually did better than I anticipated. I had to walk 1 minute of the 5 minute run intervals. So I ran 2 minutes, walked 1, and then ran the remaining 2 minutes. I did that on BOTH of the 5 minute runs. Not too shabby for an out of shape 240 pound woman. So, my strategy is this...when I can't "complete" a day I will repeat it. So, on Thursday I'll be back at the gym doing Week 4 Day 1 over again. Once I get that done without any alterations, I'll move on to Day 2!
I'm not sure exactly what strategy I'm going to take after Monday's final weigh in is over. I started this journey on January 15th, 2010. I got my Body Bugg towards the end of February. To date I have lost 25 pounds and 17.5" from my body. I am feeling good and ready to keep going, but maybe at not such a frantic pace.
Regardless, I think that it's really important for any BB user to make sure that you're watching that GRAPH at the bottom of the NUTRITION tab. Make sure that you're not going WAY over one thing, WAY under another, but hitting your calorie target. Obviously all of those things (fiber, sodium, carbs, protein, etc) make a difference, so we must make sure we're watching where we're at with those. If you're high on the carbs, watch that closely at dinner and skip the carbs for dinner time. If you're getting too much sodium (KETTLE) then watch out for those processed foods and focus more on fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables.
The lesson here is "It's not just calories"...I've hit that target and made those deficits...but I'm not losing weight. You have to watch WHERE those calories are coming from too. Now it's time for me to sign off and go eat some fat!
Lori
5 comments:
Keep up the great work Lori! I have had my Bugg about the same length of time as you and I've found that I've gotten too comfortable. Sometimes I save up calories during the day so I can have a not as healthy dinner. I still maintain a deficit, but it can't be doing me any good. Your post was just the kick I needed!
Good luck with C25K also! I am still on week 1 because I get sidetracked with other activities during the week.
I have the same problem with my sodium intake. I am trying not to add it to my food and use other spices to replace it and it seems to be helping.
Low fat/High sodium tends to go hand in hand. A lot of the low fat products add sodium to add 'taste'.
Go for the Buurrrn!!
(Jennie from the Facebook BB page)
Hi Lori,
I found your blog through the body bugg message boards on apex. I have really enjoyed reading through all the old entries and learning about your journey.
I am also on the Couch to 5K program (it will be week 2, workout 3 later today). I wouldn't say that I am "enjoying" it yet, but I do feel good and proud after it is over. I was just wondering which podcast you use? In case you don't use Nicole's...I thought I would tell you about it. I like the music a lot better than Roberts techno. Here is the link - http://gonicoleyourself.blogspot.com/
Keep bloggin about the bugg!
I've gotten REALLY into fresh produce- it's the main part of my diet and I feel SO AWESOME about it!! It is crazy to me that I actually use up produce when I buy it. It is crazy to me taht I want to eat fruits and veggies and that I'll choose them over less healthy options.
I have found that I can easily get into a downfall of convenience food- even in the form of healthy stuff. A little too much of this or that... I found this awesome granola that is a great whole grain source- the label is awesome to read. Primarily sweetened with coconut so it isn't terribly high in sugar. But if I eat it daily- bad. Well, maybe not so much bad but definitely leaves my food choices less effective.
I started out using Livestrong.com to track my food and discovered within a couple of weeks that my sugar intake was insane. Started switching things up with fresh produce. I gotta tell you- it's like discovering a whole new world of food.
I bought a box of cereal about 2 weeks ago. Never has a box of cereal lasted so long in my house! I do actually measure out the serving for it and I add sliced banana for sweetness. But, again, it just isn't part of my daily menu. On the other hand, fruits and veggies? Totally part of my regular, everyday diet!!
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