The Biggest Loser League

I think one of the best things I did towards the end of 2009 was to sort of re-evaluate how I was tracking my progress and what I was doing to lose weight and size down.  Basically I had to retool my Food Journal to track calories in vs. calories out as specifically as I could. I found some great formulas for calculating TDE and BMR in order to try and figure out why my progress was so slow! I also working on hitting the gym much more regularly and upping my cardio time. It seems to have worked and my body started to get off the damned plateau and LOSE weight. I think I've lost around 5 lbs since joining this site  and I know that doesn't fit in with some of the greater losses that others have had...it's a little HUGE for me! I'm at the point of my journey where I think it's just going to be harder to lose the weight. My body has grown used to the changes in diet I've made and the working out. . so I'll have to make sure I really watch the calories and still try to change things up to keep it stimulated!

For anyone that has had as slow of a journey as I have, I'll say this: Just keep sweatin! Keep reading. Keep watching TBL and keep your head in the game. For so many of us we've carried this weight around for YEARS. We cannot expect it to just melt off - although that WOULD be nice wouldn't it?! Anyway - use the formulas! Less calories in than are going out. . . it DOES work!

After watching this week's TBL, I've come to the conclusion that Rudy is one manipulative S.O.B. Seriously. I know it's a game. I know that people have to play the game in order to stay, bla bla bla. However, I'm thinking with that after watcing the exchange between him and Shay, and then listening to the reason he told Rebecca he was voting for her to go home this week, the man is showing he's one devious player.  And that is what bothers me the most. He is befriending people and then really and truly turning on them. THAT is more than game playing. That is evil.

So I'm no longer a fan of Rudy. It just turns my stomach. In other news after getting a little kickstart and dropping a wee bit, I'm hovering on the brink of getting into the 170's. I know that I'm doing what I need to in order to get my body to simply let it go. It's held on to this weight for so long and it simply doesn't want to let it go. But it's coming around. I'm taking a note from TBL and not stressing about it. Stress will get me nowhere!

So I'm reading the "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind and I LOVE it. And one of the quotes from the novel "Naked Empire" in the series is, "Hope is not a strategy." While that quote was about people fighting for liberty and how they just couldn't sit back and hope the enemy wouldn't destroy them, and NOT weight loss, I still thought that this had meaning for my battle against the bulge.

As we've all learned by watching TBL - hope is completely ineffective in terms of results with weight loss. Honestly, it's an ineffective state of mind in terms of results with ANYTHING in our lives, isn't it? I think so!

So this week after weeks of frustrations because while my body and mind have been feeling stronger (and showing results) but the scale not budging..I made some actual changes. Obviously what I was doing wasn't cutting it and keeping my actions the same, but hoping for better results wasn't working!  So I did more digging around about calories in vs. out, formulas to achieve success, etc. And so far this week it is working!  My official weigh-in days are Tuesdays and this Tuesday I was 184.4 - well here it is Friday and I'm 182.6. I am feeling pretty confident that Tuesday will show a payoff.  I just have to stay the course and stick with the formulas!  Will keep posted!

Well POOP!

I had hoped that I'd be down, but I'm not. I weighed 183.6 last Tuesday and here I am at 184.4.  I've been so very diligent counting calories and tracking food- AND ramping up my workouts.

Honestly? I think that my problem is that I do not know for sure what is the number of calories I need to be consuming to ensure the weight loss. I know I'm working hard and pushing myself - so it has to be that I'm still eating too much...or not enough.  GRRRR Anyone have any ideas as to where I can find an accurate Caloric counter to follow and make sure I start losing again?!

Other than that..I'm feeling great and looking great. Just not losing great!

I THINK ABOUT FOOD ALL THE TIME....(or so it seems). It's a little scary actually. But it's true - I do. I think about what I will eat on my next meal and the meals after. Now some would say this is good - it's good to plan. But I don't know. I hate the fact that my mind is so focused on my stomach so often! In the past that hasn't exactly worked out to my advantage...ya know?! Ha!!!  But there it is. So what I've been trying to do is immerse myself in the planning and counting of it all.  My son and I have also gone back and started watching Season 7 of TBL and just sinking into the contestants' stories (DUDE...was Joelle dead inside or WHAT?!). See we didn't start watching the show for the first time until Season 8, and we love it. But going back and watching Season 7 (which really was kind of different and rocking wasn't it?) has really been even more inspiring and helpful in regards to food. I'm just learning a lot. About food. About me. About habits. About excuses.

So even though I'm sitting here already thinking about lunch (and I haven't finished my breakfast yet..!)...I'll just try to think of how to do it right!?  RIGHT?!