Good morning, beautiful ladies! Today is the first check-in! Check out this link
How to Accurately Weigh and Measure Yourself
and record your weight and any other measurements you want to in your My Fitness Pal profile by clicking on "My Home" then "Check-in." You may watch your waistline shrink but not see much budge on the scale, which is why it's great to do lots of other measurements, too.
Over the next six weeks, try using the food diary and workout log via My Fitness Pal to gauge how many calories you're consuming vs. how many calories you're burning. It can also help you see if you're consuming the recommended amount of proteins, carbs, etc. that your body needs to be efficient. You can customize the daily summary page to show other categories that are otherwise only viewable from the "View Full Report" screen. For instance, I like to see my sodium and fiber intake on the front food screen, so I've put them there. To customize your view, under the "food" tab, click on "settings." Here you can also change the number of meals and the meal names. If you follow the mini meal method, you might want to add in a late morning snack, an afternoon snack, and a late night snack. Maybe after a month or so you won't need the diary because you will have a pretty good internal monitor of when you reach your recommended calorie allotment, but I still think it's a great idea starting out to give the diary a whirl.
For the workout log, enter in all your workouts under the "Exercise" tab and under the "Cardiovascular" section. Enter in weight lifting as "Strength Training" and enter in pushups/situps as "Calisthenics" so that you can get the calories burned to show up accurately in your daily food summary. Any calories you burn you eat! "You have earned XX calories from exercise today." Which brings me to the educational/motivational piece for today...sorry, most days won't be a novel like this...
Why Exercise Won\'t Make You Thin
Read this article and post a comment response on this blog posting about something you thought was interesting in it, or what your take-away was. Also, commit to the group to try to bring positive energy to this Ten in Six Challenge and to work hard on BOTH your food intake and your calorie burn.
I am so excited that the challenge is starting and even more excited for all the awesome ladies who accepted the challenge and are taking the reins in their lives for positive change! I love it! Share ideas, answer questions, offer tips, pass along words of encouragement, share your successes, and chat it up with one another! You can do it! Challenge Your Excuses!
8/16/09
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My take away was that I need to be careful to avoid the post-exercise pig out and have some high-protein and healthy options easily on hand. Having a great workout doesn't entitle me to anything other than feeling awesome:) Yes, the article was pretty cynical, but I thought it was a good reminder to keep BOTH the eating and working out in mind when trying to lose weight. I commit to fueling this blog with positivity and I can't wait to hear from all of you!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely appreciate this article. I have always had more success with changing my diet and trying to add in exercise later than doing the reverse. My goal is to try to keep my workouts simple ie. push mowing my lawn, short bouts on my elliptical and long walks with the dog and focus most of my strength on what goes into my body. Thanks Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI totally fit into this article. I'm definitely a rewarder to myself after I workout. I like the myfitnesspal because it will help me keep track of my daily calories, something I've never done before. Good luck everyone!
ReplyDeleteI also fit into this article well! It makes sense though, we exercise to burn a few hundred calories and it comes right back with that yummy snack you think you deserve and can "afford" to eat because of exercising. I'll be focusing on exercise as well, but the calorie counting is where I need to really keep an eye on things! :) Good luck you guys!
ReplyDeleteWhat I take away is that sometimes we have to make some tough choices and practice some really good will power. I had a nutrition class a while ago that we talked about how sometimes when your brain is telling you it's hungry that sometimes it just thirsty after a work out. Seriously, I know I don't drink hardly ever those 8 glasses of water that it recommended. So I tried something, after (and during my workout depending on what I'm doing) to have water right there on hand, and you know what? I was indeed less hungry! Also when I'm done with my work out to have a "smart" snack within a reasonable distance to me so I'm not doing something dumb like eating deep fried chicken nuggets after I'm done working out- because that doesn't help anything. If I have some fruit or veggies or granola bar though I can have that. This works well because I LOVE those foods.
ReplyDeleteThis article really makes me think of what I'm putting into my body.
After some technical difficulties, I am finally able to post! I'm pretty sure that article scared the bejeezus out of me! I am that sedentary person that does short bursts of exercise. So now I fear the day when all the sudden the scale stops budging, yet I'm still busting my butt at the gym like the writer said. Unfortunately, I don't have much of an option since I sit at a desk all day long and I don't have kids to run after when I get home. I'm just going to have to find a way to make sure I get up and walk around more often throughout the day. Maybe park on the other side of the parking lot and walk downstairs to eat lunch rather than in the break room. I usually like to relax when I get home and then I finally get motivated to work out around 10:30pm. I am a night-owl so this is normal for me, plus the gym is empty so I have the place to myself! I did notice that after I exercise I also get cravings for sugar immediately...ok, ice cold water first, then SUGAR! I have found though that since I work out later, I don't really want to go home and stuff my face since it's so late already and will be going to bed soon. Plus, I don't want to ruin what I just did. Apparently, I have a conscience I wasn't aware of prior to starting to work out. But, I still want SUGAR! Thanks to a little conversation I had with Sarah, she suggested I try a low-fat chocolate milk chug. That was probably the best advice I have had so far! That little 4 oz chug is low on calories and satisfies my craving immediately. It also helps repair my muscles! I make sure that I don't have anything but healthy snacks around so I don't go for the pint of Ben and Jerry's...because let's be honest, I totally would! If I want to cheat, then I have an extra yogurt. At least it's only 100 calories vs 1000 calories. Good luck ladies! I can't wait to see our results! :)
ReplyDeleteI found the article to be very interesting and somewhat surprising! In my experience, if I am hungry when I start exercising, I quickly lose the hunger feeling and won't be hungry for about two hours after I have finished. The main thing that I took away from the article was that I need to be more active throughout the day. I definitely will allow myself to do nothing active for the rest of the day if I head to the gym first thing in the morning. I realize now that I need to make an effort to be active throughout the day in addition to my "workout". One way to make that change is that I'm going to go for a walk after dinner. Another thing I want to focus on is achieving a sense of balance in being healthy. I find that consistently eating healthy and consistently working out are mutually reinforcing. I look forward to reading everyone's comments and being energized by everyone's positive attitudes and results!! Good luck everyone!
ReplyDeleteUsually, I stretch, drink water and take a shower after a work out. Then I'm not so hungry afterwards. Gives my body time to stop sweating and relax. However, I also have to learn resistance. Sometimes, I try to imagine the taste of the brownie and after a while, I don't even want it anymore. Sometimes. :) Swimming was relaxing today. Oh! And my favorite work out song is "Don't Stop Beliving" by Journey. Rock on ladies!
ReplyDeleteGood workout plans, Meghan! The everyday all day lower-intensity type of activeness is exactly what the article says is healthiest. I'm still working towards that. Jessie & Nicole, I'm sure keeping an eye on your caloric intake will accelerate the results you've previously seen- keep up the good work! Linds- I wanted to talk about water this week, so thanks for the PERFECT segway :) You're completely right about the body confusing "thirsty" with "hungry." That's an area I can definitely improve upon. Michele, I wish I had your late night energy! Does anyone have any suggestions for low-calorie satisfiers for sugar cravings? Sounds like you're doing great with the yogurts! Kristin, I do the exact same thing if I work out early in the morning & I think a late evening walk is a perfect way to keep your body burning, not to mention help your mind sort through the day in meditation and peace :) Laura, I'm glad you had a relaxing workout- those kinds of workouts feel so great- when your muscles are completely "worked" but you are relaxed afterwards, like Bikram yoga, too (and I added your song to the playlist).
ReplyDeleteSo I think we all are going to try the simultaneous calorie consumption and calorie burn monitoring, be active more in small ways throughout the day, and DRINK LOTS of water! :)
Keep on trucking, ladies! Day one down and you did great!
When last week's TIME arrived, I thought this was the stupidest cover story to date (not that the idea of the article was stupid, but that it shouldn't be on the cover). Anyway, I read the article and am glad that someone is pointing out the benefits of low-impact, frequent activity. I remember an article in a women's magazine several years ago that talked about "little fits" (little spurts of good fitness), like not taking the parking spot closest to the store, but walking across the lot. Also, when I'm putting stuff away, I won't try to carry everything at once, so I have to go up and down the stairs in our house more times.
ReplyDeleteI also have some serious issues with this article. After reading this, a person might decide to avoid exercise in order to make it easier to eat few calories. Avoiding exercise has major negative consequences! (And I'll save you from my other thoughts.)
I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and working on our health together!