The Chubby Mama’s Fitness Plan
Although I posted this yesterday(2/25) the kind ladies who are hosting Losing It:Not Just Our Sanity are letting me link up today (2/26).
Losing It is a 10 week weight loss contest/challenge hosted by Mary, Jessie and Ashleigh. Click here for more info on the challenge. There will be prizes! But, of course, the biggest prize of all will be lost weight!! (Hopefully never to be found again!)
Check it out and join us!
My original post can be found below.
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I’ve recently stumbled on the will to actually stick with a weight loss goal recently. I haven’t been on it for long however but I feel good about it! I think part of it is because I feel like the proper diet and exercise will boost fertility but also because if I look pregnant I actually want to BE pregnant. That is not the case right now. I definitely look it. I weigh around the same a when I was nine months pregnant with both my girls! GROSS!!
So I wanted to share a couple of tips and what I’ve done in the past almost-two-months of trying to lose weight. Oh, in case you were wondering, I’ve lost five pounds. I’m not going for fast weight loss. I’m going for slow and steady.
The Daily Routine…
So, what I’ve been doing so far is trying to get on my elliptical 3-4 days a week for 25 minutes. I’m slowly upping my time by anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes every few weeks. I started out at 20 minutes and will try to get to about 35 minutes. Because I don’t want to be overwhelmed by the idea of exercise (which I hate), I will probably never be one of those people who gets on the elliptical for an hour 5 days a week. I will probably never go longer than 35 or 40 minutes. An hour just seems way too long to me! Half an hour is very doable in my mind. If I think of daily exercise in hour segments I get discouraged and think ” Ugh. I don’t have time for that every day. I guess I can’t do it”. Not to mention I’m beyond out of shape and an hour would kill me! But half an hour out of my day changes my mindset towards exercise. It’s weird but it works for me! I would, however, like to be able to fit it some form of exercise 5-6 days a week at some point in the future. Twenty minutes to half an hour is also very doable when you have small children in the house who are constantly trying to sabotage your exercise plans. I try to plan my time on the elliptical around a favorite t.v show that way I have something to look forward to. Right now I’m either watching “Yes, Dear” , “A Baby Story” or “Bringing Home Baby” during my workouts.
In the near future I would also like to start out doing Pilates 2 days a week and then progress to 3. I love Pilates because it strengthens your whole core with moves that incorporate your whole body. There are no sit ups or lunges or anything. And the beginners routine I have lasts 10 minutes and I can feel it at the end! The DVD I uses is very soothing and doesn’t go past 30 minutes at the highest level.
The Daily Mind Set..
What I’ve done is try to make getting on the elliptical as easy for myself as possible. I wake up in the morning with it already on my mind and the decision that I WILL get on that elliptical. I write it in my daily planner. I take my work out clothes down stairs along with my sneakers and tennis shoes so they’re right there when it’s time to use them. This to save precious minutes I may use to get sidetracked or to talk myself out of going upstairs to get that stuff. That may seem silly or trivial but every little bit helps me stay focused. I do this on the days that I take Katelyn to school in the middle of the day and know I won’t be exercising until later in the day. On days I don’t take Katelyn to school I go down stairs partially dressed in my work out clothes already. Then I pick a show I’m going to watch and set my work out time for then. Then, I keep a steady eye on the clock so I don’t miss it! Everybody goes potty, has a drink and a special toy to play with before I get on the elliptical. I told the girls they may NOT ask for anything while I’m on it. And I say this almost every time I’m on it- ” IF I….(gasp for breath) HAVE TO GET OFF… (gasp for breath) THIS THING …(gasp for breath)…. TO SEPARATE….(gasp for breath)…. YOU TWO…..(gasp for breath) … SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET IT!!!!”. (heaving chest, gasping for breath). The girls are starting to understand that elliptical time is mommy time and they need to be good and quiet or there are consequences after mommy stops gasping and heaving.
The Daily Food Plan……
If you know me at all, I love to eat. And I hate being on any sort of “you can eat this but not this ” plan. I usually give up on any plan that requires me to drastically change my eating habits, requires extra work or special food. Right now I eat what I want and track it on www.myfitnesspal.com I started in the beginning using myfitnesspal.com strictly as a food diary. I wanted to see exactly what and how much I was eating every day. I’ll just say it was scary.
It will tell you how many calories you need to eat a day for your height and weight. You can log in and keep a record of what you’ve eaten and it will deduct the calories from your daily allotment. When you log in your exercise it will add calories to your daily allotment (yay!) You can also keep track of your exercise and any notes about how you feel about your eating and exercising that day. Right now, my daily allotment is 1500 calories. When I exercise I get 300 extra calories to eat.
If you remember I’ve been trying to move to a whole/ real food diet. While that kind of diet is healthy for you the foods that aren’t fruits and veggies tend to have higher calories because they aren’t diet foods. I eat a lot of full fat dairy. The whole grain breads I eat have 110 calories a slice! So my portions can’t be very large if I want to have any calories left for the end of the day. What I’ve found is that even though my portions are smaller I enjoy the flavor and they satisfy me longer because the food isn’t “diet or fake. I’ve had to learn balance in my eating. I usually don’t count fruits and veggies (unless they’re covered in some sort of sauce etc) a la Weight Watchers. My whole family has been more adventuresome as of late and my girls are eating fruits and veggies they refused to eat before. And Mike? He’s eating salad! Actual grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette! And steamed carrots with salt and butter! He’s found he likes spinach!
Ok…..you can pick yourself up off the floor now. For those of you who don’t know Mike, he’s an UBER DUBER (yep. It’s a word I just made up) picky eater. For years he wouldn’t touch fruits or vegetables other than an apple. He doesn’t eat any sauces or dips other than barbeque and ketchup and the boy still won’t eat macaroni and cheese. Who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese?!!! Anyhoo…I digress.
So, eating healthier as a family really helps.
I’ve been having to eat lunch on the go lately because of Katelyn’s school schedule. I drop her off at 11:30 and then usually run errands for the two and a half hours she’s school since we live about 25 minutes from her school. I’ll admit… I hate packing a lunch for myself on those days so I don’t always do it. Nothing ever sounds good other than a couple of snack items. So, sometimes, I grab lunch at the two places close by. McDonald’s and Burger King!! But, I’ve managed to make it work for me. Madelyn loves chicken nuggets and fries as does Katelyn. I love McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries! What I usually do is share chicken nuggets with the girls. I’ll get a 10 piece nugget and eat 8 pieces and give Maddy two (which is about all she wants to eat of the chicken anyway). If I eat 8 nuggets and a small fry that comes to 483 calories. Sometimes I treat myself to a sweet tea from there (which I LOVE) for 230 calories. I’m full and don’t feel deprived at all. At Burger King I eat a Whopper Jr with cheese and mayo for a total of 420 calories. I factor those things in to my daily eating habits and work accordingly. Some days I may go over and some days I stay under my calorie allotment. But I don’t over think it. If I eat unhealthier foods one week because of splurging eating out, I try to balance that out over the next few days with extra water, fruits and veggies. I’m trying to do what works for me so I don’t feel deprived and like I’m starving all the time.
I allow myself one “treat” every day. It’s usually after dinner when I’m really craving something sweet. And it’s usually Nutella on a piece of toast with a cup of milk. I look forward to that snack every day. I save calories for it every day. And, sometimes I still have it even when I don’t have any calories left over! It’s all about what works for you and what is going to help keep you heading towards your weight loss goal. Guilt and deprivation does not work for me.
Stuff I like……
Some healthy foods that I’ve discovered I like are Kashi Cereal. Especially Kashi Go Lean Crunch with honey, almonds and flax and Kashi Go Lean Crumble with blueberries and cranberries. I usually add about half a cup or so of frozen blueberries to that cereal and it’s a super filling and super healthy way to start my day.
I’ve also come up with a parfait snack that I love.
I take half a cup of Stonyfield Farm organic whole milk french vanilla yogurt and layer it with half a cup of frozen blueberries and half a cup of Grapenuts cereal. It’s delicious and nutritious. You could use whatever low fat or non fat yogurt you would like in place of the full fat type I use. It comes to 345 calories. I like it for breakfast too.
Have you heard of Sketchers Shape-ups? I bought a pair last November. They are pretty pricey but worth the money, in my opinion. I use these babies whenever I go grocery shopping or am going to be doing a lot of walking. First of all, they are super comfortable!!! I feel like I’m walking on a bouncy cloud! Secondly they really do work your glutes and thighs. If I wear them for half an hour or more of walking I feel it when I take them off. They are also good for posture and lower back pain. Am I burning a ton of calories and going to get in shape just by wearing these? No. But I feel like every extra lit bit counts. If I can turn grocery shopping or a trip to Wal-Mart into a toning session even better! I don’t wear them on the elliptical because of the wedge. They put me at a weird angle I don’t like while on it.
Another resource I turn to (not often enough!) is the book “Body By God” by Dr. Ben Lerner. Our Chiropractor lives by this book and gives copies away to his patients.That is how we came to own a copy!
There is a wealth of valuable exercise and nutrition information in this book. I highly suggest reading it! There are two things in his book that Ive been using lately.
1.Throw your scales away!
Ok, I haven’t thrown them away but I’m not completely depending on them as the gauge for my fitness success. His point is that our weight fluctuates and if we let our success be determined by the numbers on the scale we’re going to get discouraged and quit. He says to not even use scales and only go by your measurements and how your clothes fit. Muscle weighs more than fat. I hadn’t measured myself in ages and never used them as a guide. I now check my measurements once a month. I took my measurements late in the game so I’m due to check them for another week or so. For right now, I’m using the scale just to keep somewhat of a gauge on my progress here at the beginning.
2. Maximum heart rate and fat burning zones.
Each of us have fat utilization heart rates when we exercise. Usually that is 55% to 75% of our maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is defined as “the number of beats per minute your heart should not exceed during exercise”. That heart rate is dangerous and painful. He talks about three different rates you can exercise at and which ones are the best. The Fat-Utilization Rate (FUR) is appropriate and comfortable for people at all stages of life and exercise.
The second one is the Performance Enhancement Rate (PER) which is 75%-85% of your maximum heart rate is recommended for serious athletes who are looking to make gains in distance and speed as well as burn fat.
The third one is the Sugar-Utilization Rate (SUR)- This is at or near maximum heart rate and not recommended. It begins to burn sugar for energy instead of fat . There is high caloric output but also high amounts of dangerous stress being placed on your cardiovascular system.
Here is the formula for determining your maximum heart rate=
220 minus Your Age
So for me that would be 220-31= 189. That’s my MAX heart rate level. The level in which my heart should NOT be beating while exercising.
To figure out my FUR rate (55-75% of my max heart rate) I would take 189 x55%= 103. That’s the lowest my heart rate should go to still be burning fat. The highest fat burning rate would be 189×75%= 141. So my FUR is 103-142 BPR. When I’m on the elliptical I try to keep my heart rate between those to numbers.
I know this post was long but I hope I wanted to share what I’ve learned recently and what’s been working for me!
I’d love to hear how everyone else is doing with their fitness goals.
