Monday, July 12, 2010

30 x 30: Week One

I promise, The Writer Chic is not going to turn into a weight loss blog.  But it will continue to be a diary of my life, and right now, a big part of my life is consciously working to improve my health through what I eat and how (if?) I exercise, so, there you have it.  Once a week – most likely Monday – I’m going to post a recap of the week: what I’ve learned, where I’ve struggled, recipes I’ve found that I want to share, and of course, how I’m doing at tackling my goals, phase by phase.

First of all, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for the outpouring of support.  In addition to the comments left on the introductory post, I also received emails, texts, and phone calls, overwhelming me with “you can do it” and “I’m gonna do this with you” and “I’m proud of you” sentiments.  Knowing y’all are cheering me on is a huge inspiration to keep at it and stay accountable.

At the suggestion of several people, I checked out My Fitness Pal.

I. Love. It.

It’s basically an e-diary: a place I can log in everything I eat (which is super easy using their database) and it’ll calculate the nutritional information; in addition, I log my cardio and strength training exercise.  Using those two things, and factoring in my current weight and goals, it basically does all the “paper” work for me.

After only one week, here is why I capital-L love MFP.

I’ve never bothered to count calories or read nutritional labels, except maybe to say to Jim, “Holy cow, there is a TON of sodium in this,” but yet proceed to prepare the whatever-it-is anyway.  Being able to see the caloric value of a food before I chose to eat it has been not just eye-opening, but also revolutionary.

For example:  I didn’t start tracking my calories until Monday, July 5.  Sunday, July 4, I had 4 – yes, FOUR – cans of Dr. Pepper at our picnic.  Believe you me, if I'd been the least bit aware that this indulgence packed a whopping 800 calories, I’d’ve been drinking water.  I actually went back into the July 4 record and plugged in all I could remember eating at the picnic, and was so sad to see that dinner alone earned me over 2,700 calories.  Even with the extra 500 calories that I’m allotting for exclusively nursing Erin, that is still way, way more than I need – and it was only that ONE MEAL!!!

All that to say, I’m not going to deprive myself of the occasional Cranberry Sprite from Sonic or homemade iced hazelnut mocha, but for sure, “all things in moderation” has taken on new meaning.

I know some people firmly believe that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”  And good for them.  I, however, probably side more with (yes, her again) Blair, who so eloquently said what so many of us (really) think about that logic:

“BULL.  I can think of a ton of things that taste better than skinny feels.  Pizza, Oreos, warm chocolate chip cookies on ice cream with caramel sauce, loaded baked potatoes, Bloomin’ Onions, heavy beers, french fries, burgers with fried eggs on them…all of those things taste WAY better than skinny jeans feel.”

Not so in sync with the whole “burgers with fried eggs on them” part, but as for her general attitude?  I’m with ya, sister.

That said, I felt fantastic in both body and mind when I sat down with dessert on Tuesday:

Whereas before, I would have loaded up one of my World Market mugs with decadent brownie-studded double chocolate chunk ice cream drizzled with my homemade chocolate-fondue-turned-fudge ( a horrendous 810 calories), on Tuesday, I chose to have a half-cup of strawberry ice cream with a couple spoons full of fresh sliced berries (a respectable 129 calories).

Again, not that I’ll never again indulge in the “before” – after all, I have just discovered that Hershey’s makes Dark Chocolate Fudge ice cream topping.  I’m just saying it was really empowering to make a choice that was not only healthier, but completely satisfying.

Moving on…. ;)

I purchased the infamous Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD, and plan to tackle it in earnest after our next trip to Ohio towards the end of the month.  Until then, I’m enjoying just trying to be more active in general (when the weather has cooperated, which hasn’t been too much).  And also, if anybody has any good recommendations of mommy-and-baby exercises I can do with Erin, I’d LOVE to hear them.

I didn’t think to take measurements or a “before” picture on the 5th when this started, but have done so today, so I’ll be able to share measurement progress along with weight loss as we go through the summer.

But for now, I at least can share, happily, that I did indeed lose weight this week:  4 lbs.!

Thank you, again, so much for all your encouragement and support. Whether or not the actual 30 lbs. comes off by the big 3-0 day, I know that this change is going to be HUGE for me, no matter what the scale reads.  (The other half of my wardrobe will be happy to see me again, too, and the feeling is VERY mutual.)

This post is linked to Blair’s guest host for McFatty Monday, 30+ Mommyhood.

15 comments:

gottaluvboyz said...

Congrats, Monica! Sara B. turned me onto MFP after her great success over there. I, too, fell in love and lost about 25lbs about a year and a half ago. I've got a 4 month old and I'm back at logging my calories and exercise. Good luck!

Kendra said...

YEA!!! GO MONICA!!!! I start tomorrow =)...so I better finish this ice cream tonight...ha!

Kendra said...

YEA!!! GO MONICA!!!! I start tomorrow =)...so I better finish this ice cream tonight...ha!

Kaybee said...

My husband and I started a low carb diet in the middle of June. He has lost 20 pounds and I have lost about 15. Carbs are really bad and people sometimes forget how many are in certain foods. Good luck!!!!

Kelly @ Sufficient Grace Ministries said...

Four pounds...that's awesome, girl! Great job. It is very eye-opening when we start reading that nutrition label, isn't it? Keep on keepin' on!

Anonymous said...

Way to go! I am proud of you. See you soon. Love Mom

phasejumper said...

Wahoo! Thanks for sharing with us. I'm so excited for you! A tip I learned this week-there are some recipes you can't mess with. I tried to make fettuccini (sp?) alfredo with light butter and fat free half and half instead of heavy whipping cream and it tasted like dessert. Yuck.

Jenn said...

Four pounds your first week is awesome and surely encouraging you to keep at it! I may have to look into that website, too. Keep up your good work - even when it's tough. You'll make it!

Blair@HeirtoBlair said...

Congratulations!!!!!

Those 4 lbs are a good motivator, aren't they?! :)

Sara said...

:) I'm so glad you like MFP. As School House Rock says, "Knowledge is Power." WTG, lady!

Kelly said...

4 pounds, that's great! I have to admit, I had a hard time getting past the Dark Chocolate Fudge topping, but still, I'm going to be joining you when our vacation is done later this week!

Tricia said...

That's great, Monica! You've inspired me to check out MFP to attempt to lose the rest of my baby/pregnancy weight, too. From what I've seen of MFP so far, I really like it and can see why it's such a hit for others. Thank you so much for sharing!

Shanna said...

I have never posted here before but have followed your blog for a while now. Congrats on the diet and The 30 Day Shred is a great video if you have kids, it's short but intense, pefect workout!

Shanna

metta1313 said...

Congrats on the weight loss and I totally love that you are not denying yourself goodies...just working on the moderation thing. That's what I do too! I've done Jillian Michaels. Level 2 is the hardest. Just an FYI. I was releaved when I moved to Level 3. Just wish someone told me so here I am passing this knowledge on to you. Good luck!

Amy Y said...

Thanks for recommending MFP. I'm loving it!!!