T.H.E (Trying Hard Everyday) Team - Week 13

Morning teamies!!

Jaimie- I adjusted my eating and now eat about 1/2 my exercise calories back everyday, so Im eating between 1600-1800 per day instead of the 2100 I was. Im glad I did what I did tho in terms of eating that much because now I pretty much know where my maintenance calories will be since I didnt gain anything. :happy:

For those of you with a lot of pounds to lose, losing 5lbs a week is doable, but for someone working to lose less ... thats ALOT of weight to come off in a week. I'll tell ya what my book says to do and you can decide if this is right for you or not. Its basically what I started out with when I began MFP, then once I got my HRM I changed things. At first, all was great but now Its slowing down, so these are the guidelines I use and we'll see if I can break out of the stall Im in.

First off, figure out what your BMR is. You can use the tools on MFP or My book has a formula if you want it but Im too sore and lazy from week 4 day 1 of couch to 5 k to get off my bum and go upstairs for it.. LOL I'll post it later.

Next, for exercise- Use the following calculations when figuring out how many calories your burn.

At a minimum you should do:
Walk 30 minutes PER DAY. Calculate it at 4 calories per minute (thats 120 calories for a 1/2 hour walk) This can be broken up into 5 or 10 minute walks 3 times a day if necessary or done all at once. On days I run, I usually take a walk around my neighborhood just so I dont stiffen up.

Cardio 3 times a week. Calculate your cardio at 8 calories per minute. (so thats 240 calories for 1/2 hour) Strength training calories burned is the same as cardio. Do it 2-3 times a week. 8 calories per minute.

In otherwords, If you do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strenght training, thats 500 calories per hour. This is my typical workout 5 times a week and in the beginning I was losing 2-3lbs a week. Eat ALL 500 of them back! Every last one! (this makes sense to me because this is exactly 1/2 of what my HRM says I burn every day)

So, if you normally eat a 1200 calorie day (without exercise) and burn 500 calories....eat 1700 calories. Of course, 1200 calories as a base is pretty low. This is why it is important to know what your BMR is. Once you get that calculated, you can mess with the number of your base calories.
if you figure your BMR to be 1700 without exercise, eating 1200 calories would put you at a 500 deficite and you will lose weight. If you want to gain 5#'s and your BMR is 1700 without exercise, you would eat 2300 calories a day. It really is that simple.

They key here isnt to eat LESS, its to find your numbers and EAT good, healthy foods to keep your body going and keep your metabolism revved up. EVERYONE is different. What works for me, may not work for you. What work someone else, probably wouldnt work for me. This is why people get soooo frustrated. Your body will adjust to exercise, so change it up frequently. Every 2-3 weeks, try a new class or a new video. Keep your body working for you. Doing the same thing, over and over is not only boring for your brain, but boring for your body as well.

LI4G.. Thanks.. I love that post...

Your welcome :happy:

Oh... btw...

AJ~

on the weight lost this week!!

Nitag- I know the feeling. I was so good before and during my trip to Florida, but for some reason since Ive been back Ive been struggling with the eating aspect of things and once again not drinking all my water. I think mainly I was getting frustrated with not seeing results I wanted even tho I was working my butt off at the gym and sticking to the calories I was eating. It makes sense to me now why I wasnt losing, but during... it was just frustrating. Like lulu said, you have had alot of stressors the past couple months. Dont beat yourself up, just do a YOU turn and get back on track. 77 calories isnt a big deal...dont worry about it!! That isnt going to make or break your deficite for the week. When I go over (no matter how big or small) I try to look more at what I went over on. Did I eat Healthy stuff? Or did I eat sugary crap?:laugh: That seems to help me relax. If I went over on sugary crap, I do a little more exercise the next day...if it was healthy I dont worry about it. Some days Im over by 100, some days Im under by 100. Not a big deal.

Healthymom- Intervals on the elliptical?? cool!!! Bet you burned lots of calories doing that!!

Toni- Welcome to our group!! If you think you love this site now, just wait till you get to know us. This is a great group! Best of luck with your goals!! As for the weight watchers, do whatever you feel comfortable with. Ive never done WW, so Im not sure how thier whole points thing works. Seems to me like it would be hard to eat unless you knew how many points something was worth? As for the weigh in, just post your weight on Saturday for the previous Friday. 1 day is no biggie.
Anyway, You're welcome to join in! Alot of us check in daily, so feel free to come chat it up with us

Kristi- If the shoulder still hurts try some mineral ice. That worked great for my shoulder strain. Take 2 motrin and call me in the morning.. :laugh: Heating pad and ice pack works great too. As for the "oh, I can just work through it" I know the feeling. Did that myself in Florida 3 weeks ago and just this past Saturday was able to work my arms again without my left shoulder killing me. Never ever again!! If you start to feel pain, stop and stretch. Give your muscles a few minutes to recover. Sometimes that helps. If after stretching you still feel pain, then stop. Way to rip it up with the workouts though!! Im so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!

No gym for me this morning. In fact this whole week presents a challenge for me. I get to have the little 1 year old back part time and have her 4 days this week in the AM to early afternoon. 3 of those 4 days I have the other 2 I watch in the afternoons, so Im gonna be stuck going to the gym in the evenings instead of in the AM when I want to go. :ohwell: Im doing water aerobics tonight. If I get there early enough I'll do some elliptical before going to that. Wednesday is gonna be the hardest day...I have all 3 of them. The 1 year old from 7-3 and the other 2 from 12-5:30, so I either get to get up at the crack of dawn and go wog in the AM or go to the gym after they all go home. hmmmmm. I think I'll play it by ear. LOL If I can get up early enough, maybe I'll skip the gym and just go wog around the neighborhood for a change. We'll see what the weather is like. Its been pouring rain, windy and cold for the past couple days and the weather man isnt promising any relief of that anytime soon.:grumble: