Well, January is more than half over and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made so far this month. Since you all called me out on being a whiner, I’ve been less of one. I’m eating relatively well, running really well, and am generally a very happy guy. I even think I’m being a better dad and husband than I was at the end of last year. Maybe I’m tooting my own horn a bit, but that’s ok, right? Anyway, I found a cool little feature on the daily burn that shows a nice summary of what I’ve been doing on a calendar. Take a look below:
As you can see, there are some holes in the calorie counting, but for the most part, I’ve been doing a very good job. I’m especially proud of the last two weeks which show remarkable consistency for me.
Let’s take a look at how my plan of action components are coming:
Offline POA Components:
* I will call the gym and schedule a meeting with a personal trainer TODAY! Done and reported about.
* I will go to the gym on Wednesday and Saturday mornings so that I will be able to keep up my training runs on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Modified to Monday and Friday gym sessions with my trainer for the next 6 weeks due to scheduling conflicts. Wednesdays are going to be days off and Fridays will be double duty (both running and lifting).
* I will track and log my calories using my iphone and will still input my “restaurant calories” to the best of my ability. Doing well, but not perfect.
Online POA Components:
* I will post my weight @GFS once per week. Done this week.
* I will update my calorie/exercise tracking via thedailyburn @GFS once per week as well. Done.
* I will eliminate negative posts about what “what [I] wanted to do but failed to, or planned to do but couldn’t.” Doing well, but there’s still a long way to go.
* I will get busy doing instead of talking about doing it! Definitely gettin’ stuff done!
So I’m really happy with the way things are going right now. The only thing that sucks…NO WEIGHT LOSS! But I’m not discouraged. Either there’s something wrong in my calorie counting, or in my calorie expenditure estimates. But I’ll figure it out soon. Tomorrow morning at 5:00 I’m having my first workout with my personal trainer so that should add in another two workouts per week as well as ramp up my metabolism to burn more calories. So I’m betting I’ll see some progress on the weight loss and fat loss fronts soon.
That last paragraph reminded me of something my trainer said in our initial consult: “There’s no such thing as your body hitting a plateau…Only your program can plateau!” My program’s plateau is about to end…I can feel it!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey – I enjoy reading your blog. I had an idea and take it at whatever importance you would like.
I had a question on your eat/burn calendar. There are a few days in which you do not eat even the suggested lowest amount calories/day for women (1200 calories)? That maybe could be a reason for a lack of weight loss. A body will only go so long on such a low calorie consumption before it begins to take calories away from muscles and such instead of fat cells.
Keep us informed on your progress!
Seth–More likely than not, on those days, I just didn’t log my calories. I can assure you I ate more than I reported on those days. Some days I just kind of fall off the wagon I guess.
Do you have Microsoft Access in your Office bundle? If so, you might like to check out the Nutrition template the Access people have put together (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC100948301033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101428511033). I’m not certain all the nutrition facts are right – for instance, I think they had a Burger King Whopper at only 16 grams of fat, which is off by about 50 grams of fat … but there’s an amazing amount of information in there. You might enjoy poking through the databases and see if they could be helpful to you.
i use this site when finding my calorie counts. I actually think it might be a little high – but it is a good guideline…but of course..the packaging would let you know their closer approximates.
http://www.acaloriecounter.com/
I just wanted to say that I’m worried about your calorie counting methods.
Upon first glance, I, like the first commenter, was concerned that you are not eating enough calories per day to sustain yourself.
Then, after reading your response, I became worried that your calorie tracking is not as accurate as it is presented in this calender. I know from my successful weight loss (only 20 lbs but I worked really hard for them!) that it is very easy to become dishonest with yourself about calories. Then, you may become frustrated when you don’t get results you want.
If you are going to count calories every day, try to be a little more consistent. Many people, like you, find it difficult to find the time to commit fully to counting daily calories.
By the way, what I do is have a group of approximately equivalent calorie foods that I rotate for meals. For example, breakfast is 350 calories (either eggs, toast and fruit, oatmeal and fruit, oatmeal and yogurt, shredded wheat, yogurt and fruit, etc.) This way, I do not need to count every single meal. However, I find it relatively easy to be organized with meal and snack planning as I’m on a food budget. I hope this may help.
Sarah–Thanks for the concern, but you don’t need to worry about my calorie counting. I’m down 41 pounds since starting this blog over 2 years ago. Yes, my weight loss has been on and off, but I know that I have this calorie counting thing down. As stated earlier, the lack of consistency recently is due to me just willing myself back into the whole thing. It takes me a while to change bad habits. The calendar is showing my consistent improvement over the last two weeks. I’ve been off of calorie counting for a while and I’m just now getting back into it because I’m sick of maintaining and not losing. Thanks for the comment!
I for one think you’re doing great. It’s great to get such a positive post too.
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