It has been a busy two weeks. School started on the third, my husband and I have been hot and heavy into our house hunt, and my 4yo son has been potty training. I feel pulled in lots of directions, but I am handling the stress amazingly well.
I seem to have mostly sorted out the sleep issue, although I admit to having help from pharmaceuticals (OTC, mind you). They are just enough to take the edge off my insomnia and let me sleep soundly. Maybe too soundly, though, since I have chased my DH to the couch a few times with the snoring. No, I have not made the ENT appointment, yet, but all the doctor appointments will be scheduled by the end of the week.
Once I started sleeping better, I could focus a little more on paying attention to what I eat. With the help of a nice app I found in the Android Market called "MyFitnessPal" (connected to a website of the same name), I have been able to track my calorie intake. I am not great about doing it on the weekends, or when I eat out, but I am great during the work week when I eat on a regular schedule and pack meals from home. Initially, I set my maximum level at 1200 calories, with a goal of losing 2 pounds per week. But after a couple days, I realized that I was not ready for that level of sacrifice, and it seemed overkill anyway.
So I took a long, hard look at my goal of losing 110 pounds, and decided to approach it as I do my degree pursuit -- it is going to take years, not months, and I should plan accordingly. So instead of 2 pounds a week, I set it to 1 pound a week. Sure, it is going to take me 2+ years to lose the weight, but the weight will still be lost, so who cares? Anyway, this change means I get to max out at 1640 calories per day, and I have found it to be MUCH easier to stick with.
I am eating more frequently throughout the day and including more salads. I find that packing food from home accomplishes two fundamental and necessary things -- saving money and controlling my food. I also find this schedule helps keep my energy level up, and I do not have that nasty crash as badly as before... at least when I get sleep at night.
I even take care of my sweet and salty cravings by accounting for chips and baked goods. It is just like budgeting my money, only involves more chocolate. YAY!
The program also tracks various nutrients such as vitamin A, calcium, etc. as well as protein, fat, and carbs. So it's not just about the calories, but making sure all the good stuff goes over, and the bad stuff stays under. I don't stress about that as much, so long as I am not binging, which has only happened one night so far. I hit my stress limit because of a cold and just let myself go.
Over this past weekend, I was a little fretful because I did not log in and track anything from Friday morning to Tuesday morning. And as we were house hunting and gaming, we ate out and had a lot of munchies. But in the end, I did not do too badly.
How did I do in those two weeks? Exactly two pounds. Right on target.
Only 108 more to go. Hehehehehe...
Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods
Just want to tell you that I am finding your blog very encouraging. I've been overweight for years, had a kid last year, gained some more, and now I'm preggers with 2nd kid. Not too much I can do now that I am preggers, but I am trying to eat better and exercise more as much as I can. Hang in there, every little success is a success!
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