My Tools

Calorie counting:
In April I discoverd Caloriecount.com This has become an invaluable tool. It has become my main tool. I was frustrated by my search for a free diet support program. Then in an attempt to find a database for looking up the basic calories for ingredients to my own recipes, I came upon this site by accident. It is much more than a database. I can track everything. My calorie intake and calorie burn. I found out that understanding this relationship is essential to healthy weight loss success.

The formula:
3600 calories = 1 pound

To loose a pound a week: 514 x 7 = 3600

If you can maintain a calorie deficit of 500 a day, you will loose a pound a week.

Exercise is essential. The reality is that the average woman in a sedentary lifestyle will only burn about 1500 calories a day. If you are morbidly obese this number is much smaller. The necessary calorie deficit for effective weight loss is between 300 to 700 a day. 500 is optimal. 1500 minus 500 is 1000 calories. 1000 calories is not healthy. Anything under 1200 calories for women is essentially starvation. You can not get the nutrition your body needs.
My lifestyle is considered sedentary because I work at a desk all day and tend to do sedentary activities at home. i.e. reading, knitting, crafts, art, computer, TV.
Important note: If you have more than a 700 calorie deficit you run the risk of your metabolism slowing. That is the opposite of what you want.


My exercise plan:
I work out 5 times a week and burn between 300 and 500 calories each time. I adjust my meal plan to keep between a 500 and 700 deficit. On my none workout days, I try to take two 20 minute walks. This increases my calorie burn to about 1700 calories for those days. That allows me to still meet my 1200 calorie needs and my 500 calorie deficit goal for the day.
I use a combination of elliptical, treadmill, bike and weights / band work. Since I have physical limitations to consider, I use a combination of the physical therapy exercises that I was given and have added others as recommended by my doctor and chiropractor.
The results have been beneficial for weight loss and mobility.

My food plan:
I have chosen a menu of items that are healthful, fresh, and convenient for work and on the go. I have read labels, used the data base, and planned ahead. I am an emotional eater. Therefore, I must plan my menus ahead. I build my menu the day before or that morning. I always take my lunch. If I order out, I run the risk of temptation and it becomes difficult to know exactly what I’m putting in my body.
If we plan to go out to eat, I pick the restaurant, and get nutrition info for their menu online. I know what I'm going to order before I get to the restaurant. That way, I don't even need to look at the menu. I also eat something like carrot sticks on the way there so I'm not starving when I go into the restaurant and start smelling all the wonderful smells. I do not order desert. In fact I ask the server to take the desert menu away. I don't even want to see it on the table. Of course when with a group of people I have to amend a lot of this because I will not make the experience of eating out with people all about me. It's rude. This is where I can sometimes get into trouble. If I do, I get up the next day and put the day before behind me.
I have built a menu of my own recipes with nutrition and calorie break downs. These recipes are something that my partner will eat as well. This makes dinner time easier on me because I am the cook. If he won’t eat it then I have to make something for him and I am more likely to be too tired to make two meals. This means I loose. Only the foods that are allowed, with a few exceptions, come in the house. If he wants junk, he has to buy it himself and eat it somewhere else. I am lucky; I have a partner that supports my efforts. So when I put my foot down about food, he accepts it.
My menu does not have a lot of variety. At first this was difficult, but soon it became a relief. I didn’t have to make too many hard decisions. This is the reason for success on plans like Nutri System and Jenny Craig. They are doing that for you. The problem is that as soon as you stop eating their food, you gain weight back because you didn’t learn how to do the math on your own.
I have little pleasures built into the menu. I know that chocolate is available at work and at three o’clock, I will eat it. So I have allowed myself two pieces of dark chocolate a day. It must be dark chocolate. Less fat and calories, plus better health benefits. The trick is to have very few empty calories. I buy my own and take two pieces in my purse each day.
There is no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup in my diet. I use Xylosweet (xylotol) as a sugar substitute. Xylosweet is the closest taste to real sugar I have ever had, and it is good for your teeth as well as promoting weight loss. The only thing I need sweetener for is my two cups of coffee in the morning. Yes, I still have my coffee. That is another of the pleasures I insist on keeping.
However, it is the only caffeine, besides the dark chocolate, that I take in. I drink only filtered water the rest of the time. And plenty of it. At least 64 to 75 oz a day. If I must have something else, I have unsweetened green tea. The down side is that it does have caffeine. The up side is that it has healthful properties and has been linked with metabolic health, hence, weight gain support.
The most important thing I have done is completely given up pastries. They are an addiction for me and once I start I cannot stop. I keep away from them like a recovering alcoholic must keep clear of alcohol. The only thing I consider a slip on my diet is when I have a pastry. This is the most difficult part of my diet.
So, low sugar, low sodium, low caffeine, AND high fiber.
Fiber keeps the digestion healthy and you feel fuller. Getting enough fiber will play havoc with those low carb diets. That’s why I stopped using them.

I keep my carbs at 50% of my daily calories and try to make sure that very little are empty calories. The remainder I try to maintain a 25 to 30% of protein with the the rest being good fats. I should have less than 60 grams of sugars a day. 40 is better. Except for the chocolate these will be all natural sugars from fruits and so forth. I aim for 35 grams of fiber a day.

Real life:
As far a alcohol, I have not completely eliminated it. I have it sparingly and figure it into my food plan for the day if I plan to indulge. This way I can easily see how I have had to rob from Peter to pay Paul because they are empty calories and at some point I will feel hunger. It’s not to guilt myself but to make myself aware. I stick to red wine. The drier the wine, the fewer calories and sugars. Beer is a rarity. However, I am Irish and when I go out to an Irish pub for music I must indulge. I look up the number of calories I expect to consume (honestly) and work out how many more calories I have to burn off at the gym.

My plan centers on choices, honesty and awareness.
I faultier when I don’t get online and track my calories or don’t start the day with a plan. When I loose my discipline and just blow a day or two off or I get knocked out of my routine some how; this is how I get off course and stop loosing or I gain.