Thursday, April 21, 2011

Day Two: Setting Goals

Sleep schmeep. The husband and I stayed up late talking about WHY it is people wish to lose weight if they are in fact happy with themselves which we both agree is imperative, of course. Feels like too obtuse of a subject to report any further on for my mood right now, so perhaps our thoughts will unfold over time.

Back to facts: I ended the night with one third of a bowl of Kashi 'grape nuts' and some soy milk. I wanted seven bowls. I would never condone eating before bed. Calorie storage is a tricky thing and you don't want to do yourself or your insulin resistance the disservice. In an ideal world you should give yourself hours between eating and sleeping. But you know that. So, why am I eating at one o'clock in the morning? I cannot overstate the unbridled voraciousness of the breastfeeding mother. Good god. It seems silly to stop eating as I know I will just be hungry again in minutes.

A doc appointment today revealed the following:
180 pounds (heyseus!) - and what does that mean?

Well, that's up from a pre-pregnancy weight of 153, which is about five or six pounds heavier than my usual hover point of about 146 - 147 and 14 above my fighting weight of 139. But who am I kidding? That was then and I don't plan on sparring or fighting again. (hmmm) It's tricky to choose a goal weight without some other considerations, such as, why are we still talking about the scale?

Inches:  waist xx,  hips xx,  bust xx, bicep xx, tricep xx, deltoid xx, quadricep high & low xx xx, gastrocnemius xx.


Inches. Many people are more interested in this phenomenon, where by there is actually less of you, visibly. I will be taking all of the above measurements to give me a good idea of what I'm dealing with. The numbers are still coming in on this but it's likely I will use my measurements as a guide more often than I will my weight. There are a few reasons for this, namely that your weight is not always indicative of your fitness level. I, for instance, run big. I am often physically smaller in stature than other women my same weight and certainly my same weight class. Much of this has to do with muscle density. As we know, muscle weighs more than fat. I consider muscle very important in the journey to health and would never begrudge anyone extra pounds that were a result of lifting or just having a higher muscle percentage.

Other considerations:

Height - 5'4"+
Age 33, almost 34
I have an athletic background but it's been 8+ months since following a steady fitness routine
I have old injuries and misalignments that need correction

ONE THING I will not be doing this time around but I will touch on later is body fat and lean muscle mass percentages. I won't be testing myself as I'm familiar with my own stats and I'm simply more concerned with making sure I'm making plenty of high quality food for my son. And that means eating. How much? 500 more calories per day than normal. No problem. But how is it that eating can help you LOSE weight? Eating often, in small amounts sends your body the message to burn fuel rather than store it as fat. Of course that's assuming that what you're eating is healthy. And that's another argument all together.

The day, in summary:
Lots and lots of good water
Coffee
Smoothie - banana, strawberry, yogurt, oj, cinnamon, whey protein
Dried mango slices
Nitrate-free Chicken sausage, jasmine rice, roasted veggies
A walk to the store (short)
3 Hershey's Miniatures milk chocolate
Tofu & Veggie stir-fry
1 Good beer


Goals?  In my opinion successful goal setting for weight loss includes short term and long term.

Short Term: 1 pound in week 1 - 4/28/11
Utilizing primarily calorie moderation, calorie quality and breast feeding. Will also do daily stretching and short walks simply to increase movement. 2 pounds in week 2 by increasing movement.

Mid Term: I don't know yet. TBA

Long term: 18 pounds in 12 weeks - 7/7/11
Calorie moderation, calorie quality, breast feeding, 2-3 different kinds of cardiovascular excersize, resistance training and yoga. Calories will increase as movement increases.Variance approx. 1700 - 2300 calories. (Pre-preg daily calorie intake was about 1300-1800 avg.)


Phew. Man. That's it for now. Tomorrow, another adventure in acceptance and starch avoidance.

Yours,

Rayo











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