MY FIRST ENTRY - Mycah Day 1!!!

mycah82

mycah82

New member
I'm New... Mycah's Summer Weight Loss Goal

I am Mycah - I am a 28 year old female, who live in the San Francisco Bay area. I am currently 180LBS at 5'6. My weightloss goal: 50LBS by xmas 2010. I'll be posting weekly pictures of my journey..... Thank you in advance for your support...!

I have always been conscious of my weight all my life, I have to say… some of my immediate family members, including my dad was in the entertainment industry so staying fit was always a must. My parents raised us vegan vegetarians ever since I was born but I was never able to be the skinny girl like some of my friends - always alittle bit on the 'thicker' side. Of course, when I turned 18, I had my first taste of fish, meat, refined sugar products, dairy… All the things I was not allowed to eat. I immediately went from my 140LB frame to 200LBS in 2 years. In that time, I learned for my self how to balance the type of food, without going to the extreme and managed to loose 50LBS in the following 2 years.

During college, I was in a very good shape - I was able to relieve my academic stress at the gym. After college though, I took on a stressful job (while I enjoy it), worked crazy hours and steadily gained 30LBS which is where I am right now.

When I did try to lose weight in my past, it was always with extreme measures - not necessarily healthy. I was a bulimic from the age 18 until 25, I fasted, I stayed hours at a time at the gym. When I wasn’t doing these things, I knew that I just had to get back into it and I'll get to my goal fast. Physical appearance was always the driver.

Now that I have a steady relationship and getting a bit older (and hopefully wiser), my priority has shifted to staying healthy - mentally and physically. I do want to get back down to 130LBS - but it is because I don't feel like a 28 year old. My energy is often times low, I get sick easily, my motivation is very low and I always prefer a nap over a quick jog. Something is wrong here. So I decided last year to re-prioritize and focus on my health. I've started to mediate, explore spirituality and eat healthier. All this is starting to work, I am hoping but I am still having challenges sustaining these motivation and translate it into exercise and weight loss. And I don't want to diet anymore - I want to make this change in mind set a part of my lifestyle.

So here I am… With my day 1 entry…. I appreciate any support I can get from this group - As I go through my journey.


1. What is your current height and weight? 5'6, 180LBS
2. If you were at an ideal weight now, what would that weight be? 130-140LBs
3. At what weight would you like to be at four months from now? 150LBS
4. Why do you want to lose weight? To have a more positive outlook in everything I do. Health reasons.
5. What obstacles could get between you and your weight loss goals? Long hours at work
6. Why do you think that you now have a weight problem? I always had a problem - I've been an emotional eater.
7. What lifestyle changes do you think would help you lose weight? Finding something I can get excited about outside of work.
8. Why do you believe that you did not lose weight or you gained the weight back? I always did it in an unhealthy way
9. Would you try writing down all food and drink consumed for a given period of time? Sure!
10. Do you cook at home often? If so, what do you cook? No, I think that’s part of the problem - Its hard to find time to.. When I do, I do cook very healthy - but I snack a lot in between.
11. How often do you go out to eat? Where do you go? Out to lunch with my co-workers 3 times a week.
12. What are your three favorite foods? Lightly salted snacks (Wheathins, oatmeal squares, asian food)
13. What are your three favorite restaurants? Japanese restaurant
14. What are three things you can do differently when it comes to food? Eat less, I suppose.
15. If you woke up tomorrow and your body was exactly the way you want it, what would be different? I'd be more active.
16. Do you eat when you are not hungry? Yes, when I am anxious, I'd want to snack on crackers etc.
17. Do you binge eat (large amounts at a time)? I use to, not so much the past two years.
18. Do you hide your food or eat in secret? I've done it, yes.
19. Do you eat when you are sad, nervous, or depressed? YES
20. Do you eat as a reward? Not so much.
21. Do you eat while watching TV or using the computer? Sometimes
22. What do you normally eat for a meal? Cereal, sandwiches, wraps, stirfried veggies
23. What type of snacks do you eat? Crackers, apples, yogurt.... I don't think I eat bad things - I just eat a lot of complex carbs... (i.e. two bowls of cereal instead of one).
24. In terms of exercise, what, if anything, are you currently doing? I've been sick for the past two months, so more or less none. I've started to walk on the treadmill 30min a day.
25. Where do you go for exercise? A local public gym? School/work gym? Home? Gym at home and at work when I do go.
26. What, if anything, are your three favorite types of exercise? Cardio, weights
27. What is your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly motivation to move towards your goals? Going to the spiritual center, sunshine
28. Do you have rewards for certain goals? Shopping, vacation
 
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Hi there! Welcome to the forum!
I just got started here recently, and it's been really helpful so far.
I look forward to seeing your progress! I too have struggled in the past with losing or maintaining my weight through unhealthy measures. Let's try together to make long-lasting, healthy lifestyle changes. :)
 
Hey Mycah! losing 50 lbs by Christmas seems like a lot, but sound motivated from your post. :)

I wish you the best of luck on your weight loss journey!
 
Thanks Hanabi and Penguita :)

Thanks for reading my post - i know it was long...

50lbs is a lot for xmas - even if I don't quite get there, so long as I am making good progress, I think I'll be content :) Good luck to you, Hanabi.
 
Hi Mycah (beautiful name),

Welcome to WLF! I have been here for a few months and I have to say the community is very welcoming and encouraging. Will drop by often to see how you are doing and I look forward to reading about your progress. Good luck!

Juni
 
Hi Mycah, welcome to this forum! I think starting this diary and becoming
a part of this forum will help you in reaching your current health goal.

I am going to write a plan that you can follow, but it is only an idea, make
sure you read what others suggest, and check out what other people
have written in their diaries. This plan worked for me, and also for many
people that I have helped to lose weight in the small European country
where I currently live. It was designed by a natural body builder 16 years
ago that trained body builders and also gave consultations to people that
wanted to lose their excess weight permanently.

The first thing he told me is that fat loss is the same for everyone, in other
words the structure of the weight loss strategy is the same. What is
different is what food someone eats and what exercise someone uses.

But in the end proper nutrition + exercise + non-stop motivation is the
ultimate formula for creating permanent fat loss.

By the way, the spiritual path that you have started to explore will help you
tremendously, but make sure to listen and observe what is said, and try to
get feedback from wise people in your life about it. There are a lot of folks
that don't know what they are talking about in the area of spirituality.

Anyway, fifty pounds times 28 weeks is a little less than 2 pounds per week.

IMO this is realistic if you use proper nutrition, do simple cardio, like walking
fast on a treadmill, or outside for 30-45 minutes per day, and do some weight
training, about three times per week. The exercise should be simple, a little
challenging, but nothing extreme.

As far as your total daily energy expenditure, the fastest way to calculate it is this.

If you want to go the path where you lower your calories, then multiply your
future weight times 12, and if you want to go the path where you keep your
daily calorie intake at the level that your body demands currently than
multiply your future weight by 15.

So 130x12= 1560 and 130 x 15 = 1950 calories. If you eat 4 meals per day
that would be at 1560 >>> 390 calories per meal and at 1950 >>> 488.

If you eat 5 meals per day that would be at 1560 >>> 312 calories per meal and at 1950 >>> 390.


By the way, the only way to calculate your true TDEE (total daily
energy expenditure) is to measure your body fat percentage, and then
calculate your TDEE using a formula that takes into account your lean body
mass. And to be sure 100% you have to track weekly results using body fat
measurements. This is not that easy, and most people don't like going this route.

The majority of people like going down the lowering the calorie path, but
my health mentor recommended taking the other path. For me it worked,
in one year I lost 110 pounds of body fat, which is right around the 2 pounds
per week that you are aiming at.

The reason he said that the lowering your calories below your TDEE doesn't
work in the long run is because eventually you hit a weight loss plateau. And
if a person already has a slow metabolism, this plateau is very difficult to
breakthrough. This is the major reason why I chose the second path.

The other path is obviously the path of maintaining the daily calorie that
your body needs to function properly, i.e. your TDEE, and using exercise
to burn off the excess body fat. Using easy cardio (like moderate walking)
every day and weight training three times per week, you can quite easily
arrive at your primary health goal by the end of the year.

Of course, the exercise part is simple, at least as far as what exercise that
you should use, but the proper nutrition part is very difficult and complicated,
because there are a million opinions, and everyone thinks they are right...lol

...including me, of course...lol

But, to be more serious, here is what my mentor told me that truly worked
wonders. He said that everything must be done in moderation, including
moderation itself!!! This is why he suggested that I choose three days
per week, and with my breakfast during those days allow myself to eat
cheat meals, that consist of the foods that I love (cheesecake, brownies,
etc.) After 15 years of maintaining my ideal weight, I still do this, but now
I do it on M,W,F, which are my cardio days. I don't go overboard with this,
but two pieces of cheesecake, or three big brownies is the norm...lol

I still eat my breakfast, I just make it about half the size, so that I still get
some healthy food in my system in the morning, but for all these years it
has helped me to avoid eating unhealthy food, except during those three
breakfasts every week.

Anyway, this post is getting longer than yours, so I'll stop here. In the future
if this is something that you think you will be interested in, then I'll post in
your diary which foods I used, and why.

Later, and good luck to you!

P.S. In your pic you look nice, and I think the major motivation behind your
weight loss should be to have a "healthy" body, and not so much the way
you look, because imo, you look fine the way you are now. You already
wrote this is your first post, I believe, so you are on the right path already.
 
Hey dude :) Welcome to WLF. Hope you like it here :) Stopping by others diaries and getting tips and hints can be really useful as well as tracking your food on your own diary :) Good luck! Hana xx
 
Thanks, Juni & Sunflower for stopping by.....
AlexPlatups, thanks for your suggestion. I like your option2 approach, for I've tried the 'lowering the calorie intake' route and it always backed fired on me.

I went to the doctor also today to find relieve for my allergy/sinus infection I've been having for the past two months....this definitely inhibited my exercise motivation so I was proud to say that I was able to go to the gym and stay on the theadmill for 30minutes, did light weights for 15minutes and played tennis with my bf for 30minutes. I feel so much more relaxed today - I just need to learn how to say 'OK, I'll get it done tomorrow' at work instead of working crazy hours. I don't want to see life passing by anymore :)

My Food log:

Breakfast:Protein bar - 200Cal
Lunch: A slice of pizza - 340Cal (I know this was bad....party at work today)
Snack:Prunes - 40Cal, handful of peanuts, 180Cal
Dinner:Steamed vegetables with brown rice - 480Cal

Total = 1240Cal

This is a lower calorie intake than usual for me, I probably consume closer to 1700-2300cal per day. But I was actually quite saitisfied. I think exercise helped. I'll be more concious of eating more lean protein, fruits and staying away from fat.

This is also my 2nd week of taking home lunch to work. I always went out to lunch with my co-workers in the past, or buying something from the cafeteria so I was proud that I managed to take home lunch (sandwitches, wraps etc.). Anyway, off to bed!! Another day tomorrow - perhaps I can wake up early enough to go to the gym for 30min or so before my 7am meeting.
 
Week2 Check-in

Hi Everyone - it has been a little more than a week since I checked in - I did my weigh-in and uploading my picture for this week. All in all, I was very concious of my eating and tried to incorporate more activities into my day to day routine. I made it to the gym twice last week, played tennis on the two other days I didn't go to the gym and my boyfriend and I went on a 8mile hike over the weekend. I stepped on the scale and walla!!! I was down 5LBS!!!! I am at 175 today! I don't anticipate the weight coming off this drastically over the next few weeks, but I'll keep myself motivated and keep on chugging!
 
Fantastic!! congratulations on the loss. In the beginning it will be water-weight, but it is a huuuge encouragement to keep going. Lbs lost are lbs lost after all and ever lbs lost counts. You are doing so well, Mycah. Keep up the good work. Hope you are having a good week.
 
Hi Mycah!

I can see a big difference in between the two pics! Well Done!

Keep up the great work!
 
Hey, congrats on your 5lb weight loss. Doesn't it make you just want to go do a workout once you see that you have made some progress? By the way, your pic looks like you've lost more than that, I wouldn't even think you weighed 175 at all. Good work and good luck.
 
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