Not quite the full 10 weeks, but close enough to make an assessment.
The (almost) 10 week results appear to be as follows:
-10 inches lost
-10 pounds lost
-fat percentage down 2.5%
-"fat pounds" down from 69 pounds of fat to 61 pounds of fat (so 8 pounds of fat loss)
-muscle mass weight down about 1 pound :-(
My measurements are what they were when I weighed even less in the summer of 2008, so I must've lost too much muscle weight back then. I have to work really hard to keep that muscle on.
I am not really hungry. When I am, I eat. :-)
I am allowed cheat meals (1 a week), but I've only had about 4 in the 10 weeks. I find myself not wanting it, believe it or not.
I really miss rolls and butter, chocolate to excess, chicken-n-dumplings, and that's about it.
I can have chocolate, but not as much as I'd like to have.
Other than that, I am good with this plan.
I commit to 10 more weeks. The workouts are short, but brutal, and I hate them. The walking is not so bad. I like to walk; it's just hard to find time (and the right weather) to do it. I just despise the treadmill. The food is good. It's still hard for me to plan ahead and "nip in the bud" any interruptions, potential derailings, etc. I really do have to PLAN ahead for each and every day, thinking about where I will be, what I will eat, what exercise I will do, what items I need from the grocery store, etc. I am NOT a planner because our life here in this house is NOT ever the same from day to day, so this is the hardest part. I will have to get better. Last night, I ate a big salad at 10 pm for dinner. Everyone else ate pizza earlier, but I didn't. I think that has happened nearly every day this week. I make dinner, and everyone eats it while I watch. It is sad. But it is the way it must be.
I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I don't want to see "rolls" on myself. I don't want my thighs to rub together when I walk so my shorts ride up (I really hate that). I want clothes to "fit" and look nice, not to tug, pull, and stretch. Is this too much to ask?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Day 60
Thinking about my last 4 or 5 posts and what I said...
I sound like I don't believe myself. And I guess I don't. It really takes a LOT of hard work to convince yourself you don't believe something you've believed for 25 years.
Calories aren't everything? More exercise = more weight loss? Longer cardio = more fat burned?
Sounds strange to me.
I sure hope this works for me. I don't have another alternative. I said I am NOT going back to counting calories or fat grams, and I WILL NOT. I am sure of this. I am just still unsure of how this whole ME approach works for me. It is different for everyone because everyone is different. I have to be so in tune with how I feel, how my body reacts, what foods do to me...this is SO DIFFICULT for me.
So, I will keep writing the same thing every week until I believe it. Or my body actually proves that it works. Then I will believe.
I sound like I don't believe myself. And I guess I don't. It really takes a LOT of hard work to convince yourself you don't believe something you've believed for 25 years.
Calories aren't everything? More exercise = more weight loss? Longer cardio = more fat burned?
Sounds strange to me.
I sure hope this works for me. I don't have another alternative. I said I am NOT going back to counting calories or fat grams, and I WILL NOT. I am sure of this. I am just still unsure of how this whole ME approach works for me. It is different for everyone because everyone is different. I have to be so in tune with how I feel, how my body reacts, what foods do to me...this is SO DIFFICULT for me.
So, I will keep writing the same thing every week until I believe it. Or my body actually proves that it works. Then I will believe.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Day 59...just over 8 weeks
Well...measurements still about the same. Weight still about the same.
Yesterday's email encouragement was about weight loss vs. fat loss. Society expects large numbers of pounds lost, so I am supposed to re-adjust my mindset. It's not about pounds. So, my goal of 150 pounds may never be met. Fat loss and heavy weight lifting will result in fat loss, not muscle loss. Fat weighs less than muscle, so the scale will not reflect the truth.
According to the fat calculations, fat loss is at just over 6 pounds in 8 weeks.
I have to stay focused on this. I feel better and do not have to count every calorie...and I"m not starving.
No diet or weight loss program has ever done this for me. I have to believe what the ME experts are saying and change 30 years of thinking wrongly about weight loss. The scale is not my friend. Pounds are not going to tell the facts. Only fat loss, which is down from just over 41% on January 1 to around 38%. And, evening readings (which are supposed to be more accurate) have made a decline in just a few weeks from 38% to 35%. Progress!!!
Not the progress I expected or planned...so I have to change my "goal" from 150 pounds to something else. Maybe a size 10 or 12??? Not sure yet.
Yesterday's email encouragement was about weight loss vs. fat loss. Society expects large numbers of pounds lost, so I am supposed to re-adjust my mindset. It's not about pounds. So, my goal of 150 pounds may never be met. Fat loss and heavy weight lifting will result in fat loss, not muscle loss. Fat weighs less than muscle, so the scale will not reflect the truth.
According to the fat calculations, fat loss is at just over 6 pounds in 8 weeks.
I have to stay focused on this. I feel better and do not have to count every calorie...and I"m not starving.
No diet or weight loss program has ever done this for me. I have to believe what the ME experts are saying and change 30 years of thinking wrongly about weight loss. The scale is not my friend. Pounds are not going to tell the facts. Only fat loss, which is down from just over 41% on January 1 to around 38%. And, evening readings (which are supposed to be more accurate) have made a decline in just a few weeks from 38% to 35%. Progress!!!
Not the progress I expected or planned...so I have to change my "goal" from 150 pounds to something else. Maybe a size 10 or 12??? Not sure yet.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Day 52 - In week 8 of ME
Not much change. In a way, I'm surprised.
I really expected a time of "adjustment", followed by my body's realizing it was time to change and a steady progress downward in weight, inches, and body fat. Alas, not the case. The last 3 weeks have been completely the same. Inches have not budged in ANY spots AT ALL. Weight is only down about 1 pound per week.
I WILL FINISH at least 10 weeks. I may even give it a bit longer because I do feel better, have more energy, and am not hungry all the time. Unfortunately, this plan is one of those where I really have to pay attention to how different foods make me feel and how they affect me. I have always been VERY out of tune with that. I'm hungry most of the time, and that's it. I don't know that caffeine does this to me, or that sugar does that to me, or that carbs make me gain weight, or whatever. I just know that FOOD makes me gain weight...and not much food at that!
They really want me to focus on how I feel - hunger, energy, and cravings. This is SO HARD for me!!! I don't have time to do much of anything "fun" or pay attention to me. My days are whirlwinds of activity and always feeling "behind" on just about everything. I go to bed each night feeling guilty about what I forgot to do or didn't get to today. I don't watch TV at all...I don't have a hobby... I'm not used to paying attention to such seemingly minor details like "how so-and-so" food makes me hungry or gives/takes energy. Who knows??? I don't. I'm trying, but this is just very difficult.
I don't see what other choice I have. I am NOT going back to counting calories, fat grams, or points. NOT EVER. I am NOT going to weigh 192 again either. NOT EVER.
I really have to learn to focus on my own body's reactions to various things and buckle down on all aspects of this fat loss approach to life. I am doing much of what they advise and sticking to the food and exercise plan. The problem is in managing the emotional part of the formula, which the creators of the plan say is of utmost importance. Sleep, stress management, scheduling of meals/workouts/walks/downtime, etc. are a critical part of this plan, but I have been neglecting it.
Typing estimates at midnight (and blogs at 12:30am) is not good. But, it is normal life for me. Joe comes home from the gym at 9pm...then it's showers, nighttime rituals, needy kids, and THEN work. It has to be done or we don't get work. So...I will have to re-think this, but not sure what my options are.
I am going to try harder. Have upped the ME Spark Workouts to 3X/week from 2X/week and have really moved up in weights. Deadlifting 50 pounds, squatting and curling 40 pounds, etc. They insist that HEAVY WEIGHTS = SMALLER ME. We shall see....
I really expected a time of "adjustment", followed by my body's realizing it was time to change and a steady progress downward in weight, inches, and body fat. Alas, not the case. The last 3 weeks have been completely the same. Inches have not budged in ANY spots AT ALL. Weight is only down about 1 pound per week.
I WILL FINISH at least 10 weeks. I may even give it a bit longer because I do feel better, have more energy, and am not hungry all the time. Unfortunately, this plan is one of those where I really have to pay attention to how different foods make me feel and how they affect me. I have always been VERY out of tune with that. I'm hungry most of the time, and that's it. I don't know that caffeine does this to me, or that sugar does that to me, or that carbs make me gain weight, or whatever. I just know that FOOD makes me gain weight...and not much food at that!
They really want me to focus on how I feel - hunger, energy, and cravings. This is SO HARD for me!!! I don't have time to do much of anything "fun" or pay attention to me. My days are whirlwinds of activity and always feeling "behind" on just about everything. I go to bed each night feeling guilty about what I forgot to do or didn't get to today. I don't watch TV at all...I don't have a hobby... I'm not used to paying attention to such seemingly minor details like "how so-and-so" food makes me hungry or gives/takes energy. Who knows??? I don't. I'm trying, but this is just very difficult.
I don't see what other choice I have. I am NOT going back to counting calories, fat grams, or points. NOT EVER. I am NOT going to weigh 192 again either. NOT EVER.
I really have to learn to focus on my own body's reactions to various things and buckle down on all aspects of this fat loss approach to life. I am doing much of what they advise and sticking to the food and exercise plan. The problem is in managing the emotional part of the formula, which the creators of the plan say is of utmost importance. Sleep, stress management, scheduling of meals/workouts/walks/downtime, etc. are a critical part of this plan, but I have been neglecting it.
Typing estimates at midnight (and blogs at 12:30am) is not good. But, it is normal life for me. Joe comes home from the gym at 9pm...then it's showers, nighttime rituals, needy kids, and THEN work. It has to be done or we don't get work. So...I will have to re-think this, but not sure what my options are.
I am going to try harder. Have upped the ME Spark Workouts to 3X/week from 2X/week and have really moved up in weights. Deadlifting 50 pounds, squatting and curling 40 pounds, etc. They insist that HEAVY WEIGHTS = SMALLER ME. We shall see....
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
ME - Day 45
Well...day 45. Just over 6 weeks of this plan.
Scale SLOWLY moving down - about 6 pounds total, so that's only a pound a week.
Tape measure not really cooperating either. Pretty much the same measures for the past
few weeks. Fat loss is supposed to be the main thing to watch, but I didn't realize it's supposed to be an EVENING measure, not morning. I'd been doing it in the morning since Jan. 1. It was almost 41% then. BUT...never checked in the evening, so I don't know what it was then. Since week 4 of the ME plan, I've checked at night, so I don't have much to compare over time. Evening measures are around 36%.
I will need a few more weeks to see if there is a downward trend. Overall, I feel better, have more energy, and am not nearly as hungry and obsessed with food. I can eat when I need to, which is NICE.
Only time will tell.
Scale SLOWLY moving down - about 6 pounds total, so that's only a pound a week.
Tape measure not really cooperating either. Pretty much the same measures for the past
few weeks. Fat loss is supposed to be the main thing to watch, but I didn't realize it's supposed to be an EVENING measure, not morning. I'd been doing it in the morning since Jan. 1. It was almost 41% then. BUT...never checked in the evening, so I don't know what it was then. Since week 4 of the ME plan, I've checked at night, so I don't have much to compare over time. Evening measures are around 36%.
I will need a few more weeks to see if there is a downward trend. Overall, I feel better, have more energy, and am not nearly as hungry and obsessed with food. I can eat when I need to, which is NICE.
Only time will tell.
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