Azara's journey to a better life

Azara

Azara

New member
DAY 1
9th of June 2011


~~~~~

Good evening dear friends :)

So, I'm really doing it, finally changing my lifestyle, my shape, my weight, my way of thinking!

Before I start I should write a bit about myself, so you get the general idea and my plan. I'm a 19 year old student, a classical musician, entering the Music Academy in the fall. The past 4/5 years, when I was at the conservatory for music, my body and also mind were under constant pressure and stress - I was basically at school the whole day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Because I am definitely not a morning person I used to skip breakfast and because I didn't have time to eat during the day, I had a biiiig supper in the evening. AND because I am a night owl I went to bed at around 1/2 am.

So as you've probably noticed a lot of things are/were WRONG in my way of living. Also in the end of my fourth (last) year at the conservatory I had very important exams (finals actually, but we call it matura exam in Slovenia) and entrance exams for the Academy. All of these exams just doubled the stress I was going through. That ment a lot more of eating for me and a lot less of activity. Actually zero activity. The result is me getting really big hips, a hint of love handles and new 22lbs (10 kg). Yay, happy times!

I've also been doing some tests and found out that my heart rate is too high and that I can only correct that with exercise. Any advice on this please?

I'm sick of my unhealthy lifestyle and I hate the fact that I've neglected my body. It's depressing! So I've decided to turn a page and change these "anomalities".

Okay, enough rambling, now to get to the actual plan and journal part :)

~~~~~

CURRENT STATISTICS

WEIGHT: 62.6 kg (137 lbs)
HEIGHT: 157 cm (5'1 feet)
BMI: 25
BROCA INDEX: 10.85% overweight
BMR: 1433.90 kcal/24h

WISHLIST

FIRST GOAL: 9th of July - loose at least 3.5 kg (8 lbs) - get down to 59.2 kg (130 lbs)
SECOND GOAL: 9th of August - loose at least 3.5 kg (8 lbs) - get down to 55.7 kg (122 lbs)
THIRD GOAL: 9th of September - loose at least 3kg (6 lbs) - get down to 52.7 kg (116 lbs)

DIET
I still need a lot of advice in this department, so any comments are welcome, please! How do you guys control the intake of calories, how do you calculate the amount of kcal's in a meal?

I'm going to start with some simple "rules" that I want to follow as much as possible:
- Drink at least 2l of water per day
- Write down how many calories I've eaten per meal
- Don't eat over 1700 calories per day
- Eat at least 3 meals per day with inbetween snacks

EXERCISE
- Try to be active at least 3 days per week (preferably 5 days or more)
- Do jogging or go to fitness

GENERAL
- Also to help me with shaping I use a creme, which I find very effective every night
- Sleep at least 7/8 hours per day
- Don't eat after 7:00 pm

-----------------------------

NOW, my first diary entry!
Note: I only started counting calories after my snack and for supper. Also in Slovenia we have our dinner a lot earlier than in some countries (like GB, etc.), around 2 pm.

BREAKFAST: bowl of cereal with low fat (1.6%) milk

DINNER: bean minestrone, tomato sallad (2 tomatoes, 2 small onions, 100g of mozzarela cheese)

SNACK: Frutabella bar - 157 cal

SUPPER: Boiled white rice 87g, 1/2 cup - 85 cal; 4x boiled and salted asparagus 120g - 26 cal; Corny Big Cranberry, 50g - 188.5 cal

WATER: 4x 250 ml - 2l 250ml

EXERCISE: Jogging - 7mins of fast walking, 10mins of running, 7mins of fast walking

A pretty successful first day, I'm quite proud of myself that I've managed. I have trouble not eating chocolate and sweets in general, so yay me! :D

I actually look forward to tomorrow, thanks guys for making this forum alive and being such an inspiration and motivation!

Lot's of love,
Az :seeya:
 
Last edited:
Heya guys!

Yesterday I forgot to mention a lil' thingy about myself. I do realise that my weight is not so high, but the fact that I'm so tiny (5'1) says differently. Actually when I had a check up the other day at the doctors, said I had to loose weight if I can, or I'll have problems and like I mentioned before, my high heart rate problem. By the way, has anyone the same problem, any specific way of dealing with it, e.g. specific exercices, etc.

Anyway I just got up and today is my first day in the gym. I gotta say, I'm utterly terrified :S Please, please let it not be crowded today! I hate the feeling people checking you out, it's annoying, especially if you're not happy with the way you look and feel.

Oh boy, wish me luck! :/
 
Hi Azara, welcome to the forum :D

You're more or less like me.
I'm 1.55 m tall.
But i was fatter than you. 66 kilos (OMG, it's orrible.)

If i can do it, you can do it too!
Good luck <3
 
Dear ItalianGirl!

Thank you so much for the support and the fast reply! The fact that your story is quite similar to mine and the fact that you've managed to loose so much weight already is really motivational! Gracie mile! :)

How did you do it? Do you workout?

Lot's of love <3
 
Hi! Just hoping I can contribute something useful in exchange for your post on my diary! Firstly, if your resting heart rate is high, aerobic exercise (cardio) will help hugely, in my experience. This is anything that makes you a little out of breath. You're exercising at a good level if you're a bit out of breath but can still maintain a conversation. You shouldn't be gasping for oxygen! I found that building the stamina and endurance of my heart and lungs by engaging at least 5 times a week in sustained moderate cardio activity, i.e. 30 mins swimming laps of front crawl non stop, 30 mins cycling or joggin/intervals of jogging and walking, VERY quickly improved my resting heart rate - which dropped from an average of 75 beats per minute to an average of 52 beats per minute in about a month! Amazing what your body is capable of with the right treatment! Good luck! Also, re. food, I will try to post recipes from time to time in my diary, so keep an eye out. You might find something you like! Oh, and I was terrified of the gym the first time I went - but it seems like most of the people there were bigger and less fit than me, and nowadays I can hold my head up high knowing I can use all the machines and am fitter than ever! Good luck! x
 
Thank you so much pleiades!! I really appreciate the kind words and any advice is very welcome! I actually had a fantastic workout today in the gym. It was a bit awkward for me at first, when I entered I had the feeling everyone were looking in my direction, but that feeling quickly passed. Imanaged to do a lot of exercises. I started with intervals of jogging and walking (I did about 2 km, which is a lot for me...I hate running, but today it wasn't too unbearable :) ), I also did a few exercises for my thighs (my most problematic area :/ ), for the tummy, shoulders and my back.

Another great news!! Yesterday I was meassuring me heart rate - 84 bpm. I remeassured it today (after my workout), for no reason really, out of boredom I guess..the result was unbelievable - it dropped down to 72 bpm!!! I'm thrilled :D

I will definitely check your diary! Can't wait for the recipes dear :)
xx
 
hii, glad you enjoyed your first hgym sessionn i went to my new gym for the first time today and i had the same feeling have to say i have become bir of a gym addict now though haha
do you have a trainer in the gym to help you with exercising?
bex xx
p.s i miss choclate too
 
Hehe same Bexxxi, gym rules :D
Nope I don't have a trainer. I had it when it was my first time ever there a year or two ago. Now I'm on my own, but the thing is, we constantly have a few trainers lurking around the gym, so if necessary you can ask for some help.

What about you? :)
 
thats cool, i got one as part of membership meeting with him in a few weeks, might be useful to get some workout tips off them i guess it what they get paid to do. xx
 
Oh cool, you absolutely gotta report how it went with the trainer. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get one also for myself. But that can be quite expensive unfortunately :/
xx
 
Finally found your diary! Thanks for stopping by mine. Congrats on deciding on making a healthy change in your life! Since you're not terribly overweight or anything close to that imo you may need to first practice the art of patience! It may seem like a curse, but its really not compared to the alternative, right?
I would recommend having at least a daily diet plan ready to keep you on track. Also look at the mayo clinic calculator .
I guessed you were about 20ish and put in your info. Looks like 1700 is a great place for you to start calorie wise. So doing that plus a steady aerobic exercise should help your weight loss and your heart rate.
 
Good luck...you are great.

What I've found at the gym is that the weight machines are not the most efficient use of time.
If you grab free weights, or just a medicine ball, you can get a better work out, a lot faster.

Most of the time, body weight exercises can do the trick, also. Most of all, have fun!!!
 
Thanks so much for all your support. Good luck in your journey as well! I'm totally going to steal your plan for water consumption :p
 
Azara said:
Dear ItalianGirl!

Thank you so much for the support and the fast reply! The fact that your story is quite similar to mine and the fact that you've managed to loose so much weight already is really motivational! Gracie mile! :)

How did you do it? Do you workout?

Lot's of love <3
Click to expand...

Calorie counting (1200/1300 cal per day) and working out ---> SUCCESS :hurray:

it will be so easy, don't worry honey!

you did an amazing job at the gym :hurray:
 
Thanks for stopping by my diary :)

With "working on problem areas", you may want to rethink that- there's apparently very little you can do to make fat go away in specific areas. Instead, what you want to think about (on top of cardio) is a workout plan that will preserve your muscle while you're in a calorie deficit. I worked out mine (I didn't have any access to help at my gym) from here: Workout Creation Instructions (I do a 2 day split but I think a full day workout is a very good way to start). I also got some help here which was incredibly useful- I posted a page in the weight loss through exercise subforum (http://weight-loss.fitness.com/weight-loss-through-exercise/48418-question-low-rep-high-weight.html)
 
Thank you to everyone for so much support and help! I'm so happy I have joined this lovely forum, everything looks so much easier and positive! :grouphug:

DAY 2
10th of June 2011

This day started fantastic, I had a really good workout and I've managed to eat 3 meals with a snack. The only problem is, I've consumed way too little calories. I'm still really new at this counting, I have a lot to improve. But I can do it!

BREAKFAST: I got up a bit too late, so I ate 2 fruit breakfast bars (308 cal) on my way to the gym

SNACK: Hard boiled egg (78 cal), a tbs of mayonaise (7 cal), a slice of cooked prosciutto 20g (30 cal)

LUNCH: Spinach chicken pasta, this was really yummi! :D (approx. 414 cal)

Lemme write down the recipe, it's delicious!

Ingredients for one person:
- 170g of spinach (I used the frozen one) - 24 cal
- chicken meat (I used 90g chicken rib) - 150 cal
- 100g of penne pasta - 200 cal
- 2 tomatoes - 30 cal
- 2 cloves of garlic - 10 cal
- 2 tbs of olive oil (for cooking)
- pinch of salt

Preparing this meal is simple:
- Firstly fry/cook the chicken in a pan with the oil until it is a nice golden-brown colour
- When finished, get it out of the frying pan and put in the spinach. Wait until it defrosts and then add the two minced cloves of garlic. Salt it.
- While you have the spinach on med fire, prepare to cook the pasta. Then peel the tomatoes and squeeze them into the pan with the spinach. Mix it nicely. I also throw in the bits of the tomato, not just the jucie, I like the taste!
- When the pasta is ready (have it cooked however you like...I don't like al dente, so I just cook it for a bit longer), mix it into the pan with your spinach sauce and let it fry for a min or two.
- Finally serve the pasta with your chicken and enjoy! :D

spinachchickenpasta.jpg

I just realised this picture looks like a pic from a cookbook! Yay for modern technology :biggrinjester:

SUPPER: 200 ml of low 1.6% fat milk (92 cal), Speculas cookies (406 cal)

WATER: 2l

EXERCISE: 2h workout in the gym

CONSUMED CALORIES: 1335 cal
 
Anyway it is really late, so I will write a reply to my friends tomorrow morning! Take care everyone and nighty night!
Lot's of love :)
xx
 
Omg girl that looks delicious!!! Thanks for posting the recipe.

Great job on working out. 1335 calories is great! You have room for a little more :)

Have a great night ;-)
 
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