Weekly Weigh In: When The Going Gets Tough!

I have to admit, it's been a tough week. I'm having some serious issues with my hip (pretty sure I'm heading into my 2nd hip replacement surgery). I've spent a lot of time with Dr's and getting x-rays and MRI's this past week. Sometimes I think we forget how much everything in our bodies is connected to everything else. The worse it gets, the more it radiates into my back and down to my knees. I have been favoring my right hip since I had it replaced (not even a year ago) and now all of a sudden I am favoring my left. Limping is not good!! The worse it gets, the more difficult it is to get around and the more my back and knees hurt. I find myself needing more sleep, wanting to sit more (so difficult to walk) and consequently being less active. 


Don't misunderstand...I'm not complaining! Everyone has things to deal with, mine just happen to be health related. I have learned things about myself through my health issues (and yes, I've had a few (X10)). Related to physical activity and weight...


1) I have learned that I would prefer to be able to eat more and be very active to burn it off (I enjoy food & cooking). But that isn't always possible with health issues.


2) I have learned that I can still lose weight when unable to exercise AT ALL, by controlling what I put it my mouth (which means I don't have an excuse if I can't do #1)


3) I have learned that when I don't feel great physically, it is MUCH more difficult to control what I put in my mouth. (Which makes #2 more difficult). I'm not sure why it is that I want to eat unhealthy food when I don't feel great. Being aware of it doesn't make it easier, but it is the first step to controlling or changing it.


4) I have learned that if I have multiple flavors of juice prepared and waiting in the fridge I am more likely to drink some healthy, energy producing juice. (Which helps me overcome #3). We all like having choices of what we are going to eat. Choosing a flavor of juice is like choosing what fruits and veggies I feel like eating for that meal. It makes it easier to go to the fridge and grab something quickly and still eat (and drink) healthily.

Having said that, I managed to lose (only) 1.5 lbs this week. The positive side is that it's still going in the right direction. It also means I have 9 weeks and 27.5 lbs left to reach My Weight Loss Goal. And here's Why I Went Public. When the going gets tough, the tough get tougher!!


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What is your health goal and how are you working on it?

HOW MANY CALORIES DO I NEED?

If you haven’t seen the challenge, check it out here: If You Bite It, Write It!

Join in, it starts today! This is an opportunity to find out the truth about how many calories you eat each day and the nutritional content of that food.

I am using LoseIt.com, but you can use any website, any phone app, or pen and paper. You can search online for the calorie count of any food or purchase a paperback book at the bookstore that lists thousands of foods including restaurants.

It takes about 15 calories per pound to maintain your weight. So if you weigh 200 lbs and eat 3000 calories a day you will do a great job of maintaining your weight, but you won’t lose weight.

If your goal is to lose weight, cut your caloric intake to between 7-10 calories per lb. So if you weigh 200 lbs, eat between 1400-2000 calories per day. Obviously, if you eat 1400-1500 calories per day you will lose weight much faster than if you eat 2000 calories per day.

Keep in mind that you need to recalculate your caloric intake as you lose weight. I recommend recalculating every 10 lbs. So when you hit 190 lbs you would need to eat 2850 calories (15 per lb) to maintain, and 1330 – 1900 (7-10 per lb) to lose. It is not wise to ever go below 1200 calories per day. As you get closer to your weight goal you may notice that the weight comes off slower because you don’t have the large caloric deficit that you had when you were heavier.

Are you joining the challenge? What mode of tracking are you going to use? Is your goal to learn how much and what you are eating or is it to lose weight?