Back On The Primal Bandwagon

Sunday I committed myself to eating primal again. I like eating that way and I like the way it makes me feel. After going on a month long hiatus and having nothing but problems, I felt like I needed to go back to what works. Three days in, I'm so happy I started eating this way again!

I'm using CalorieCount.com again to help me stay on track for the first little bit. I have to reteach myself how to eat again haha. (But it's not taking me long to relearn! Just like riding a bicycle!)

50% of my calories come from fat (89 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from protein (100 grams a day)
25% of my calories come from carbs (100 grams a day)

Because I'm not eating grains, I only need about 15 g of fiber a day and even though my carbs are very low, I'm still getting more than enough vitamin A & C. I'm not taking any supplements either. (Though I might start taking my prenatal vitamin again.)

I'm aiming to eat 1600 calories a day, but I keep coming in slightly under calories. Part of it is I'm not eating back all my calories I burn working out and the other part is I'm just not hungry. Fat really does make you feel full! My calorie deficit has been averaging 700 calories too! I think that's a pretty decent number for steady, sustainable weight loss, especially since my meals are very satisfying.

So, everything seems to be going good so far, but I'm adding in one more element that I've always wanted to try, and that is intermittent fasting. In my research I've discovered that your body starts to burn fat as fuel only 12 hours or so after eating. If you shorten your window of eating to less than 12 hours and do a morning work out, you can burn off more fat. (And this effect should be compounded by the fact that I'm only eating 400 calories worth of carbohydrates daily.)

I start "feasting" at 9am and I try to eat all of my calories by 8pm. From 8pm to 9am I am fasting. It's only a 13 hour fast, and I do a 20-30 minutes workout before I eat breakfast at 9am. I'm hoping to work my way up to a 16 hour fast in the next few months.

My scale tracks weight and body fat, so I really hope I see some positive results in the next few weeks. I hope to reach my ideal weight before the end of the year. Once I do reach my ideal weight, I'll probably ease up on the fasting, allowing me to snack socially, and I'll also increase my carb intake slightly, allowing me eat more things like fruit and chocolate.

We'll see how it goes!

Dieting is like Banking

I like to think of my body as a bank account and calories like money. Every day I receive a small allowance of calories to spend on food. This meets my basic needs for weight loss, but I also have the option to exercise to earn extra calories for more food. I can save up my calories and those go toward my deficit so I can lose weight faster.

This analogy really helps me stay on track every day. These are the things I think about every day.

Budget Wisely

Just as you would calculate a budget for your household expenses to make sure you are living within your means, you need to budget your calories to make sure you're not getting fat, but still getting everything your body needs. Calories Consumed - Calories Burned = Net Calories. It's a very simple formula, however figuring out the numbers to plop into the equation can be time consuming. It's worth it though! And it gets easier to do the more you do it, especially with all the sites out there you  can sign up to use for free.

Choosing The Right Investment Strategy

Now that you've got your budget under control, you need to think about your investment strategy. We know in the banking world that what works for one person, may not work for you and the true is same for dieting. Eating fewer calories than you burn is only half the battle. You need to eat the foods that are right for you.

Eating 2 Pop-Tarts for breakfast is not a good investment strategy for my body. I would much rather spend 400 calories on more nutrient dense foods that provide the many things Pop-Tarts are lacking. Maybe you really love Pop-Tarts though and are able to make it work for you.

No matter what type of diet you decide to follow, you need to find a ratio of protein to carbs to fat that works for you, keeps you feeling full and satisfied, and gives you energy for your day. Personally, I'm finding that my ratio of 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat is working for me. It's a moderate approach and it makes me happy.

Stay Out of Debt

Just as you shouldn't make purchases with a credit card you know you can't pay back later, don't eat extra calories that you know you're not going to work off later. I always earn my calories first by exercising before spending them on food I can't afford to eat. Plus, it's so much more rewarding to take that first big bite and know you had to sweat hard to get it. Someone once told me it's easier to work toward a goal rather than work off the guilt. True words!


On that note, this week I need to work extra hard so I can take the long weekend off. I'm going up north to visit one of my best friends and I don't want to be consumed by calorie counting. I still want to make good choices, and I know there will be opportunities for exercise, but I don't want to obsess. I sometimes obsess.

Healthy Living

Food tastes so much better when you work for it! I'm back on Calorie Count and I'm really impressed with my progress so far. Since Friday I've lost 1 pound! I was really upset over the weekend because when I weighed myself on Friday, I hadn't made any progress and then I got drunk on Saturday and had drunken onion rings and a turnover from A&W.

But I also did a lot of walking on the weekend. We had 2 hour long walks as a family and I did watch what I ate very carefully on Saturday and Sunday, (minus the booze and fast food, which was well over 2000 calories just by itself.)

Today I've been having fun keeping track of what I eat and it's getting easier to live on less. Last night I was starving so bad, I made a box of Kraft dinner at midnight. I just had a single portion and put the rest in the fridge, but I was hungry enough to eat the whole box. It took a lot of will power.

I had a walking friends date and we walked for a solid 90 minutes and just chatted about our lives. It was so nice, but now my hips are so sore because I did 3 rounds of tabata this morning too. I love walking friend dates. Instead of sitting on our asses talking, we can work off our asses talking. It's a win win situation. In fact, I think all my friend dates are going to active from now on. Why spend $20 at a restaurant when we could spend $10 and go bowling instead! I'm on to something....

Anyway, when I got inside from walking and put Tesla down for her nap, I realized it was time for a snack. I had 4 low sodium Triscuit crackers with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a container of low fat Greek yogourt. It was so delicious I actually said mmm more than once. I worked hard for that snack! I really savoured it.

I know 1 pound probably doesn't seem like much, but I'm really trying my hardest and I'm going to take this small victory and build on it. I have an end date in mind for when I want to reach my goal weight, but we'll talk about that later. Cheers, to healthy living!

Tabata

Today I started a new exercise program. It's called Tabata and it was invented in Japan. I don't know for certain that it's a more efficient way to exercise or that you'd get faster results using the Tabata method, but I really liked what I've read about it and I've decided to give it a shot since it fits my lifestyle.

The basic flow of Tabata is that you do 8 exercise for 20 seconds each and then rest for 10 seconds in between for a grand total of 4 minutes of exercise. This is considered 1 Tabata.

The point is that it is a very high-intensity exercise. You're supposed to go your absolute hardest for the full 20 seconds. You can use any exercises you like, including aerobic and anaerobic. You could do 8 different exercises, or just use one exercise per Tabata. How many Tabatas you do in a row is up to you. The more you do the better, of course!

Today I did just one Tabata with 8 different exercises. I'm easing my way into it since it is pretty hard on the body. My goal is to do 3 Tabatas a day, 5 days a week by mid August and I'll adjust my Tabata design as I get in better shape. I'm also keeping track of of my progress by charting how many reps I can do in the 20 seconds to see if I'm improving at all.

Four minutes of exercise seems like a joke compared to those who go for 2 hour runs, but any exercise is better than no exercise. Once I reach my goal, I'll be meeting the minimum 1 hour of vigorous exercise a week that healthy adults need.

Next on the list... work on my diet!

Run To Rona

...Or in our case, drive to Rona and walk around with no intention of buying anything for half an hour.

Everyone is always suggesting to everyone else to take a walk. You can't just jump up and take a walk when you have a baby. You have to time things. Will she get hungry on the journey? What's the weather like? You have to get the damn stroller ready and diaper bag ready. It's way more work than what's it worth usually.

I really wanted to go for a family walk today. The problem is that it is too cold and too windy and there are too many puddles. Dragging the stroller down the stairs is annoying. Bundling Tesla up is impossible because she just kicks off her blankets and she would get way too bored having to sit in a reclined position with the weather shield over her, not able to see a thing. Going for a walk just doesn't work right now.

We needed a place to go that was big and cost nothing. The mall was out. It's too crowded and I would buy something. Superstore, Walmart, and any large discount stores were out. I would find something to buy and the aisles are too narrow.

I said to Bob, it needs to be somewhere spacious where I would never buy anything. Rona!

Tesla had just woken up from a nap and eaten. We didn't even pack a diaper bag, we just threw her in the car-seat and drove on over. It was the perfect place to walk around; It's a temperature controlled environment, the aisles are long and wide, there's not a lot of people, tons for Tesla to look at while sitting up in the shopping cart, and there wasn't a single thing I wanted to buy!

We were there for a total of 45 minutes approximately. We started at the garden section on one side and briskly made our way through each and every aisle until we got the other end of the store, pausing only a few times to look at something interesting. It was fun and I would do it again, but it would be more fun to go to a park!

Being active is hard when the weather sucks and there's no room for spontaneity. In 2 to 3 months the weather will be nicer, Tesla will be older, more mobile, and it will be a lost easier. I don't actually know if that's true, but I'm just saying that to make myself feel better. If walking around Rona's garden section pretending I'm outside is what I have to do from now on, so be it. It's better than nothing, right?