Today marks exactly two months since I began this weight-loss venture. Two months of sticking to a plan and gradually increasing my exercise to 5 days per week. Two months = 18 lbs lost. I’m so close to my next milestone I can almost taste it.
In terms of my plan, I don’t see myself making any big adjustments until perhaps after the holidays, unless my weight plateaus. At the same time, I am reading and information-gathering about weight lifting and about eating in such a way that would optimize muscle growth, because long-term, I do believe my eating habits will need some changes for me to be a successful loser and maintainer. As I lose weight, I do not want to eventually be required to live on 1200 calories per day forever, or even 1400 calories. Nor do I want be constantly required to up my cardio time to burn the same amount of calories as my body becomes more efficient with those movements. And if I play this game strictly by the lady-mag cut-calories rule, I could see things coming down to that. I could also see myself being a thin person who is still kind of flabby, despite being at a “healthy weight.”
I’m reading The New Rules of Lifting for Women, and although I don’t know if I will have the confidence to do its strength workouts by myself off the bat, I do see myself heading in that general direction in 2010. Perhaps I’ll shell out the bucks for a personal trainer to get me started; in this case it would probably be worth it.
In terms of eating more healthfully with an eye toward muscle-building, I think I will need to eat more protein than I have been. SparkPeople breaks down my macronutrient ratios (fat/carbs/protein) for me in its reports, and I consistently come in on the very low end of the advised protein range—whereas my carbs are often a little higher than the high end of the recommended range. So yes, my eating is somewhat out of balance.
I have been making small changes to begin remedying this issue. For one thing, I am having omelets for breakfast several days per week now. This is something that came about when I got a bit bored with my food about a month into my program and my boyfriend and I figured out that, actually, making omelets isn’t too hard! I notice that on the days I have omelets for breakfast, I tend to be less hungry/have fewer cravings mid-morning. And obviously, my macronutrient ratio is a little more balanced, because I’m getting extra protein from the eggs.
I think I will use the next month and a half or so as time to experiment gently with adding more protein and some veggies into my regular meal plans. I don’t want to shock my system (psychologically if not physically), but I do want to keep improving what I’m doing at a rate I can handle.
15. November 2009 at 11:58 PM
Congratulations on the very nice weight loss!! And your thoughts and plans for tweeking your food plan are very similar to mine–so I hope we’re BOTH on the right track! Time will tell. Good luck! Deb
16. November 2009 at 4:28 PM
Deb: Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be very interested to follow your progress, especially knowing you’re on a similar track as I am. Good luck to you, too!
16. November 2009 at 12:26 AM
Wow 2 months already, that’s great! I’ve been reading up about rebounders/mini-trampolines . From what I read, it’s an excellent form of exercise. I love the benefits of jogging, however my hips can’t take the pounding. The rebounder would eliminate that. The nice ones are pretty expensive, so I’ll have to put it on my xmas list!
Keep up the good work!
16. November 2009 at 4:28 PM
Tina: Rebounding sounds fun! You should definitely put that on your Xmas list. And drop some broad hints to make sure everyone knows ;).
16. November 2009 at 1:22 AM
Sounds good to me!! Maybe we will be tackling the NROLFW together, since I can’t start til baby is born…FEB 2010.
I think your approach is totally sensible.
Congrats on the 2 month mark, your doing awesome. :)
16. November 2009 at 4:30 PM
Kristine: That’s very exciting that your baby will be here in just a couple of months! I would love to have someone to work through some of those exercises with. I’m still reading through the book right now.
16. November 2009 at 2:05 AM
I love omelets! I’ve been also trying to increase my protein intake – it has made me so much more mindful of what I’m eating, that’s for sure. Congrats on making it to the 2 month mark. I’m almost there myself and it’s such a good feeling knowing (instead of wishing) that we really can do this!
16. November 2009 at 4:33 PM
Josie: Omelets is one of the only ways I really enjoy eggs—that and hardboiled. So I’m glad I’m taking advantage of eating them for breakfast now :). Also: hurray for both of us for being at the 2 month mark! Onward and downward!
16. November 2009 at 3:18 AM
Kudos on the dedication over the last 2 months. The weight loss is secondary to the gains in health you are and WILL be making. I lost 72 pounds…slow and steady. Initially I hired a trainer and lifted heavy. The feeling was amazing and the sense of acomplishment was empowering.
I no longer have a trainer and rely on many methods to maintain my weight loss and to push myself towards both short term and long term health and fitness goals.
Weight machines are a great way to start lifting and reduce the chance of injury. Try them out and you may find yourself lifting before you thought possible.
Good luck as you move forward-
Anamaria
http://nascentfitness.wordpress.com/
16. November 2009 at 4:34 PM
Anamaria: I’m glad to hear that weight lifting was beneficial to your weight loss efforts! I have a similar amount of weight to lose as you did; it’s so good to hear about others’ successes in this area.
16. November 2009 at 5:23 PM
I started at 196 pounds and am dowen to 124 pounds. I reached my original goal and have maintained it for over a year.
Recently I decided I wanted to work on body comp, drop body fat and build some lean mass. I have re-hired a trainer and will start with him next month. Originally I worked with a great trainer which gave me the basics I needed to get started. Our working partership lasted about 10 months at which point he moved. I had lost about 40 pounds or so during that time.
The additional weight I lost on my own and although I continued lifting by myself for some time I gave it up last December and moved on to other types of exercise/activity. I got bored and needed to shake things up.
Like I said, I have maintained my weight loss but my new goal has me re-thinking my routine and longing for those intense grunt sessions. I hope my new trainer is as awesome as my original one. I guess I’ll know by the end of Feb.
Good luck and continued success!
Anamaria
16. November 2009 at 1:41 PM
Sounds like you are making sound decisions about your progress, which is great. I think the idea of investing in yourself by working with a personal trainer is great. They really know the gym and if you express what you want to achieve regarding strength training with the person then you’ll be quite successful. Plus, you’ll know exactly how to use the free weights and machines in the gym. I will say that a personal trainer was just what I needed to get me on the right track a few years ago.
16. November 2009 at 4:36 PM
Ernise: Thanks for sharing your experience! I don’t know that I 100% need to have a personal trainer to be successful, but as you indicate, it seems like a knowledgeable trainer can really demystify the gym for those of us who get intimidated by the weights.