Yes, I've started a weight loss journey again. It's embarrassing to admit that I am doing this again and again. I lost 50 pounds in 2008 and thought I had conquered my body issues then. But, over the years I gained it back and a little bit more as it goes.
I get tired of having to do this over and over again, but I must. I hate that I can't have a body that is naturally skinny. It's not like I sit around and eat bonbons all day long watching TV. I am very active cleaning houses 5 days a week and try to eat nutritionally.
My body weight has been an issue my whole life. It gets tiring - especially when people who are naturally thin just think overweight people are lazy.
I've been on my weight loss journey for 7 days now and have lost 5 pounds.
I use a free program called Spark People here. It's what I used 8 years ago and am using again because I hate spending money to lose weight. Free is always better.
One of the things that Spark People encourages is doing "streaks". How many days in a row can you log on to the site, how many days in a row can you log your food, how many days in a row can you exercise and more. You also can earn points - which have no value and can't purchase any, but fun to earn and keep you motivated.
There are also free recipes on Spark Recipes here to browse and make - so your diet doesn't become boring and you lose interest. That is what I was doing yesterday making a list of groceries before I go to the store today. I found some great recipes I'm going to try this next week.
One of the things that helps me is to track my food and exercise everyday.
I love Spark People nutrition tracker which breaks down nutrients your body needs. Here is my over all nutrition for my first week on my journey:
I love that I can see the nutrition I get from the food I eat. I always have a terrible time getting enough protein in my diet - isn't that strange? I also struggle to keep my sodium low and have to play around with my food diary to make sure I keep it in range. I never am able to meet the Potassium and Magnesium requirements and I take a supplement daily.
I'm not much of a milk drinker and Calcium is also low. I started drinking diet hot chocolate again to increase that number - but I'm still below what I should be taking. I don't have calcium supplements, but need to start taking them so my bones don't get weak as I age.
Here is what I ate and log this week: You can click on the photo to enlarge it so you can see it better.
I love the recipe I found for Low Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake. It hit the spot when I'm having cravings for 58 calories: Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
2 tsp self raising flour (I use all purpose flour and add a pinch of baking soda to make it self rising)
1 and a quarter tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp brown sugar
Pinch of baking powder (not essential but it helps!)
A few drops of vanilla essence
Enough water to make a smooth mix
Directions
Add all the dry ingredients in a cup. Add vanilla essence and enough water to make the mix smooth. Microwave (my microwave is 100watts) for 1 minute. Allow to cool and enjoy without feeling guilty!
Serving Size: 1 cup Number of Servings: 1
Wednesday I decided to add the vitamins I take to see if it would boost my Magnesium and Potassium levels - which I am always low on. Unfortunately it didn't increase those totals - but I've left them on.
Also on Wednesday I was starting to get hungry and weak and so I added more protein by barbecuing 2 hamburger patties. (I had 3 left in my freezer and BBQ them all and saved 1 for Thursday).
After eating 2 hamburger patties, I did feel much better and not so hungry.
Friday I needed flavor and some carbs. I decided to have a tuna sandwich for lunch. I don't purchase bread and use my homemade white bread recipe. I've added the recipe into Spark People so I can add it to my plan.
That is a huge bonus with Spark People is you can add your own recipes to get the nutrition value. It's a huge thing to understand and know what you are eating. Plus not having to change to diet food but a regular lifestyle eating plan. No frozen dinners or paid food diets. It's real food you normally eat, but in a healthy diet you are aware of how many calories and nutrition you get from the food you eat.
I made a chicken stir fry to get some flavor from onions, garlic, ginger, celery, carrots, broccoli, zucchini with a little drizzle of soy sauce. It was over white rice because brown rice doesn't store well and I'm a food storage girl and will use my food storage. But that is me and my life style. The stir fry was delicious and hit the flavor spot I needed.
I am eating left over tuna sandwich and stir fry today.
I also added a normal breakfast today with bacon, 2 eggs, 1 slice of toast with grape jelly on it. My sodium is high because I added the bacon. I've been good all week and don't feel bad about having a real life on this journey.
Exercise:
I started out on my exercise bike at 15 minutes. Later in the week I did 15 minutes two times. Today I was able to do 30 minutes in a row - the back of my thighs start to really ache and that is what makes me stop. I have to stretch them out when I'm done. But I'm super excited that I was able to it.
I do crunches on my exercise ball. 3 sets of 20 crunches.
I've also did a couple of exercise videos on Spark People. They are usually 10 minutes long and there are a lot to choose from. I put it on my laptop and try to follow along at my own rate. I found out that I can barely do a jumping jack. That is one of my goals is to be able to do a jumping jack again.
It's sad getting older.
I plan to update my weight loss journey every Saturday. It will take me a year to lose as much weight as I want to. I hope this will keep me motivated and on track.
Your welcome to join me on my weight loss journey, join Spark People for free here, and comment your success in the comments below.
I should also mention there are spark teams you can join to encourage each other. I'm on these teams:
Boise/Treasure Valley
Spark Idaho - the official team
Latter-Day Saint Ladies over 40
LDS Ladies
When I was successful before I was very active in the team goals and challenges. It makes it fun and keeps you motivated.
I hope you will join me on this journey!
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