Sleek by Next Summer

justjenn

justjenn

New member
Hi there

I'm a 39 year old female, married with a teenage daughter.

I have put on 20 lbs in the last year. I seem to be in this cycle of bad eating that I cannot break. I am also exercising sporadically, if at all. Too much TV, sitting at the computer, and giving into cravings for sweets at night. I'm not going to go into my whole life story in this first post. I'm sure a lot of it will come out along the way, but I have an extremist personality--all or nothing. I would like to find a little balance when it comes to food and exercise. I can overdo it as easily as not do it at all.

My plan is this:
Track food intake on Myplate every day--calorie goal 1500
Exercise for 30 min every day
Weigh myself once per week --Tuesday
Take measurements once per week--Tuesday
One cheat meal a week

I can refine and change the plan as I go.

My stats as of today July 29, 2014
Height: 5' 7" <---this won't change, lol
Weight: 168.8 lb
Measurements: 39-29-41 / 24 legs / 13 arms

I will post my workouts and daily calories each day.

Time for some coffee and then a workout!
 
Hi Jenn, welcome to the forum! Your plan sounds well thought-out instead of extreme, so I think you´re off to a good start. Take your time, be nice to yourself and keep us informed!

LaMaria
 
LaMaria said:
Hi Jenn, welcome to the forum! Your plan sounds well thought-out instead of extreme, so I think you´re off to a good start. Take your time, be nice to yourself and keep us informed!

LaMaria
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Thanks, appreciate the welcome! :)
 
Okay, so I did my workout for today. I prefer to workout in the morning, and just get it done with. It's more like noon where I live, but close enough, lol.

The workout lasted about 30-40 min. I did it in my yard. I used dumbbells and an old bench.

Key:
exercise: #sets / weight / #reps

Shoulder press: 3 / 20 lb / 10
Rows: 3 / 10 lb / 10
Bench press: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Squats: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Curls: 3 / 10 lb / 10
Toe touches: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Triceps: 3 / 10 lb / 30

Jump rope: ~700 revolutions. I warmed up with 100. Then I did 25-50 between sets or 100 between exercises. I plan on sticking to this routine for about 6 weeks. I want to do it at least 3 times a week. I'll do some walking or other activity on other days. I do have a gym membership, but I am too embarrassed for the gym right now. I'd like to get a few pounds off before I start using the gym again. Plus I like being outside.

Myfitnesspal says I need to eat 1560 cals day to lose 1 lb per week. That sounds kinda low to me. I know I have been eating way over 2000 cals a day, probably close to 2500. According to my math, I should lose 2 lbs a week at 1500 cals. Guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes.
 
Gingerjv said:
Hello Jenn welcome to the forum and good luck! you have great plan. And your first looks good, just wonderful start! 1500 calories is a bit low, so you can make it 1800. it also will allow you to lose weight;-) keep going and do not stop and you will ahcieve all of your goals! best of luck;-)
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Thanks, Ginger! Yes, I was thinking 1500 was too low as well. If I start at 1800, I'll still have some wiggle room later on if I plateau. Appreciate the welcome! :)
 
Todays food



I had forgotten how much I could eat if it was not junk food! I even snuck in a rice krispie treat and low cal brownie.
 
:) That´s the greatest thing about eating healthily instead of "dieting": you really can eat a lot! I remember (from my Weightwatching days) people complaining about how much they had to eat and how they could never lose any weight that way - and then they did and were ever so surprised...
 
Hey Jenn! Sounds like you're off to a great start! I hope you start taking advantage of that gym membership soon, though. There's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about when you're making steps to get healthy and fit!
 
LaMaria said:
:) That´s the greatest thing about eating healthily instead of "dieting": you really can eat a lot! I remember (from my Weightwatching days) people complaining about how much they had to eat and how they could never lose any weight that way - and then they did and were ever so surprised...
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I sure did not feel hungry at all! That is the psychological part that always gets me--I think I should feel hungry if I am trying to lose weight. I still had the junk food cravings last night, but those are different from hunger.


Oaks said:
Hey Jenn! Sounds like you're off to a great start! I hope you start taking advantage of that gym membership soon, though. There's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about when you're making steps to get healthy and fit!
Click to expand...

Thanks for stopping by! For now, I am just going to workout at home. There are less excuses for me not to do it too--I don't have to go anywhere, it is all right here. I will have to return to the gym when the weather gets colder, so i figure I may as well enjoy the outside while I can!
 
Hi Jenn. Your exercise routine sounds great. I had to laugh at your opening post where you said your height won't change. Lol.
 
emmasdiary said:
Hi Jenn. Your exercise routine sounds great. I had to laugh at your opening post where you said your height won't change. Lol.
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Thanks! Hopefully it won't change! My mom has gotten shorter as she has aged. They say if you do strength training, it won't happen as much because it is caused by bone loss. Kinda strange ...
 
Okay, so I have finished my workout this morning. I did a 40 min walk at the park. There is a monster hill, and I jogged up it twice. I do not care much for running, but I do like little sprints up hills. I plan on doing another walk later with my dog. She is hard to walk with for exercise because she constantly wants to stop and smell everything. So I figured I would get my real walk in this morning, and take her for one later as some bonus exercise.

I already have my meals planned out for the day.
 
Didn't get a chance to walk tonight, but kept the diet in check. I'm a little under on the calories, but I suppose it is better than being over.

 
Sounds like you're doing really well.
Don't be afraid to make your 'real' walk the walk with the dog. You control your walk not your dog! WHen I take my dog for a walk, if his leash is on he only stops if he HAS to (aka. he has to go pee or poo. and by pee I don't mean marking and peeing on every bush, I mean about to burst peeing) because he knows proper leash protocol. The instant he's off leash (I have an offleash area through the area I walk) he stops and sniffs and pees on every single plant then has to run to catch up to me as I keep walking.
Since most dogs now a days are overweight, and even if they are not, a good energetic walk is never a bad thing (as long as it is built up properly and the dog doesn't suffer from health issues)
 
MysticRealm said:
Sounds like you're doing really well.
Don't be afraid to make your 'real' walk the walk with the dog. You control your walk not your dog! WHen I take my dog for a walk, if his leash is on he only stops if he HAS to (aka. he has to go pee or poo. and by pee I don't mean marking and peeing on every bush, I mean about to burst peeing) because he knows proper leash protocol. The instant he's off leash (I have an offleash area through the area I walk) he stops and sniffs and pees on every single plant then has to run to catch up to me as I keep walking.
Since most dogs now a days are overweight, and even if they are not, a good energetic walk is never a bad thing (as long as it is built up properly and the dog doesn't suffer from health issues)
Click to expand...

lol, yes, my dog walks me instead of the other way around. She is a bit spoiled. :)
 
I put off my workout until this evening, which was a bad idea. I almost made excuses not to do it--the main one being a pretty good excuse--I had a pounding headache. Instead, I swallowed a couple Advil and embraced the suck.

Key:
exercise: #sets / weight / #reps

Shoulder press: 3 / 20 lb / 10
Rows: 3 / 15 lb / 10
Bench press: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Squats: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Curls: 3 / 10 lb / 10
Toe touches: 3 / 30 lb / 10
Triceps: 3 / 10 lb / 30

Jump rope: ~100 revolutions: I really could not jump rope with the headache. OMG felt like my brain was exploding with every jump. But I got the weights done, which is really the most important thing in this workout. I am not so much trying to put on muscle as I am trying to preserve what I have as I decrease my calories. This way I can lose fat, but not any muscle. By holding onto the muscle, I keep my metabolism from plummeting. There is method to the madness, lol.

It was also a tough day because I was really craving sugar, and I wonder if that is where the headache came from? I did eat three Fiber One Brownies--90 cals a pop. Not the healthiest, but it could have been a lot worse, and I just worked them into my total calories.

http://s44.photobucket.com/user/jkoerne1/media/ScreenShot2014-07-31at63155PM_zps4c177c18.png.html



So far, so good. Just gotta keep it going! That is the hard part.
 
Great job jogging up those hills! I think that short little bursts of exercise keep your heart rate up for a bit after you're done, so maybe the hills are making the walking afterwards even more effective. That's how I see it, anyway! I hope your headache is gone, jumping rope with one sounds awful. I find that yoga is pretty bad, too... Downward dogs do not help a pounding head, haha!
 
A suggestion. You seem to eat a fair amount of sweet and chocolate'y stuff. I am all for eating whatever you want as long as it fits in your cals but I have found that once I eat something I tend to get strong cravings for it for several days that are hard to resist. Maybe try taking a bit if a break from it for a bit and see if the cravings lessen.
 
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