It’s week number two and my weight has been going up and down, up and down. Fortunately a bit more down than up – as you can see in the above picture. It’s my weight log from Calorie Count – a service I found through Chronicles of the Battle of Bulge. The blue line is my actual weight; the green one my weight loss trend.
This week has been challenging in many ways and as a result my mood has been on the same roller coaster as my weight. I’ve had some rough days but towards the end of the week things in my personal life started to look more promising. But before jumping optimistically into the hopefully more steady going roller coaster of next week, I’m going to write down a thought or two.
Weight
Starting weight: 75.0 kg
Maximum weight: 75.0 kg on Monday
Minimum weight: 73.1 kg on Thursday
End weight: 74.2 kg
Overall weight loss: 2.4 kg
Nutrition
During the week people have kept telling me that food is the key to weight loss. No amount of exercise is ever going to help someone who wishes to stick to unhealthy eating habits. With this in mind, I have kept writing down every piece of food I have eaten during the week. Every calorie, protein and carbohydrate. They are all documented. It’s becoming an obsession.
During the week I also changed the way I look at calories. Originally, I just ate what was recommended to me. The exact amount of proteins and just the right amount of calories. This, however, made me feel a bit sick. My usual diet, the one that has kept me alive and healthy all these years, consists of what the standards would consider to be too little protein. Ignoring some of the recommendations I decided to get back to my low-fat, high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet and so far it has felt like the right decision. Obviously I have tried to make healthier choices as for where my carbohydrates come from. And some additional protein sources like tuna and eggs have stayed in my diet this week as well.
As for calories, the following graph from My Fitness Pal shows it best:
Week 2
My daily calorie intake is undeniably very low. Too low. But it is a result of only eating when I get hungry. Stuffing my face with food just for the sake of catching up with my daily calorie need makes me feel uncomfortable. So, this week I have simply tried to eat nutritious food in small amounts based on how I feel. I’ll keep doing that next week as well unless something in my general wellbeing takes a turn to one direction or another.
And don’t worry – I did actually eat something on Saturday even though the graph suggests otherwise.
Exercise
This week has really shown me that exercising does have an effect on my stamina. I’ve kept running every day except the weekend and each day the distance I’m able to run without stopping has gotten longer. The distances are still short but I’m quite happy taking baby steps towards better health. Besides, I’m not training for a marathon. I’m training for life. For a lifestyle.
October 27, 2008 at 2:04 am
Food is definitely the number one factor in weight loss. Unlike money, you have to ensure what goes out is more than what comes in
BTW, would you share your diet here? I seem to find it slightly difficult to organize a diet plan that keeps me full (without starvation symptoms that cause my body to feel deprived), is nutritious and healthy as well. Oh, if we could vary it slightly through the week, it would be helpful.
Alternatively, is there any good site for this sort of diet planning?
October 27, 2008 at 9:39 am
Oh, if only I was as careful with my money as I am with my calories I would be well on my way to becoming a millionaire
My diet surely isn’t the best one out there. Might even be the worts.. But I’ll try to come up with a post about it later this week