Huh, looks like this is my 200th post. Not too sure what that means, outside of the fact that there's a bit of longevity in writing about weight loss. Of course, it comes on the heels of me not writing for a week and a half, so perhaps I shouldn't be tooting my horn too much regarding my propensity for scrawling "you're fat" notes to myself.
In any event, I'm back.
So I've been wrestling some with this whole I've-only-lost-5-pounds-this-month thing, and thought about it from a few different angles. Maybe I need to change the routine? Less food? More water? More cardio? Less weight, more reps? No weightlifting? Only weightlifting?
For no real good reason, I thought back to the first time I found out what my BMR was. BMR stands for basal metabolic rate, and it is how many calories you would need to maintain your current weight if you were to lay in bed all day.
I first found out about the BMR back in my heaviest days. I was amused at how many calories I needed just to maintain my then-current status: 2825. Wasn't an average guy's diet only 2000 calories? And that assumes that the average guy, you know, like, did stuff. Throughout the day. Like... get out of bed. I'd estimate that I was eating roughly 3k at that time, which is why I kept rising in weight. I also had little muscle as I wasn't active in the least. So I decided to dial back my caloric intake.
Well, I just punched my numbers in again. This time it turns out I need 2325 - 500 less calories a day. Even though I dialed my caloric intake down from the start of my program, I haven't been rechecking myself every 10 pounds like I probably should have been. So I realize that while I've been eating almost exactly what my current BMR is - not the best way to drop pounds kids, even with the whole getting out of bed fairly regularly thing.
So this week I'll be tracking my calories fairly religiously to see 1) what nonsense I'm really up to these days, and 2) where I can cut calories to up my caloric deficit and get the weight loss that I want. And because I can fall prey to gimmicky bullshit from time-to-time, I'll be doing it with a bit of help from an iPhone application called Lose It!, which seems to have a ton of different food types and portion sizes in it's database. Pretty cool little toy, and it can add in workouts against your day too, so you can see recommended calories, total caloric intake, and total bonus exercise expenditure.
Anyone out there using Lose It! or similar calorie-tracking, weight-loss software or applications? I'm curious as to who else is doing this and what sort of success you're having.
256.8
Where I've Been and Where I'm Going
13 comments:
I am not using any tracking tools other than my blog. I find having to post what I eat daily keeps me in check most of the time.
We are a couple of pounds apart. Let's shoot for 239 by sometime in June. It is not that hard. Meet you there.
Congrats on your 200th post.
I'm following Weight Watchers and I'm not thrilled with my losses. To me, they're small. I've had one .5, a couple of 1 pounds...and I'm working my butt off exercising, and watching very carefully what I eat.
It's a mystery to me. I haven't checked my BMR for a long time. Maybe I should analyze what I'm doing.
No help on the iPhone, we gave up our paid subscription to cell phones and bought Trac Phones. lol We never used them, so it was a waste of money. I miss the cool features, though.
I am at 264.4, within 10 pounds, so lets give Omega a run for his money and keep below him on the scales
Congrats on your weight loss so far! you are doing GREAT!
Congrats on the 200th post!
5lbs off in a month isn't too bad, though I can understand your frustration. Good reminder to recheck the BMR every now and then.
Not got any high-tech devices, sounds like fun though!
I just purchased a Body Bugg...which should arrive on Friday. I'll let you know how that works out for me. I've heard good things about it.
I have used fitday and the loseit app on the iphone. They both seem to work similarly. I think its a great idea to track your calories from time to time to see if your really hitting what you expect. Means you need a digital food scale though too (4oz of meat isn't much). If I count my calories and watch the carbs I am eating I drop weight. How ever I think I am carb sensitive meaning I will bloat up with water if I chow a bunch of crappy processed foods (I am talking 3-4 pounds worth). I suppose everyone is different though and finding out what works for you is the main battle. Keep us posted.
welcome back... congrats on the 200
I have no high-tech devices. I don't weigh, measure, count. I'm doing this using intuitive eating, and finding a way of living that I can stick with the rest of my life. I'd be thrilled with a 5 pound a month loss. I seem to do a steady pound a week, though it usually stalls and drops all four at once. When you calculate BMR, do you mean you go to a clinic, or do you just do it using a generic formula using your weight?
I have been using an app on my Iphone LIVINGSTRONG.COM... which i really like. I will have to check out Lose it. Livingstrong seems to have a huge database that contains alot of the foods i eat.
It's crazy when you look back on it just exactly how much food/calories we had to be packing down just to get up to the weights we were at.
I mean, sheesh, I was 440 freaking pounds! With all the Dr. Pepper and super-sized fast food I was regularly chowing down on, I wouldn't be surprised at all if there were some pretty regular 4-5k+ days in there.
I may have to do a theoretical day of my worst to see what the numbers add up to...
Will
4xlt.WillPhillips.org
I love LOVE Lose it!!!! it has a really nice database and you can add foods that aren't there and I like the weight loss graph. I love gadgety stuff. I also have weightbot. because i'm messed up like that.
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