Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Nicole must die(t)!

Yes, Matt, I stole that joke from you!

In the last 2 months I've made the decision to adopt a much healthier lifestyle. My main objective is to lose a lot of weight, so I'll tell you with a lot of frustration that I haven't seen much of a result on the scale. It's really a bummer, but I'm confident that if I keep it up I'll have a breakthrough soon. And I can at least feel the benefits of greater endurance and strength and a better mood from all of the exercise I've been doing.

I was debating whether I should write about this, because I wasn't sure how interesting my diet and exercise routine would be to our billions of faithful readers, but what the heck. I know there are a great number of people doing battle with their weight, and maybe we can encourage each other! I'll share with you some things that have been helping me stay motivated:

  • The NPU Biggest Loser Challenge. This summer on campus we are having a weight loss challenge that is open to all faculty, staff, and students who have 10 pounds or more to lose. A lot of people are doing it and it's really fun! We are doing group workouts on lunches and after work.
  • Ali from the Biggest Loser TV show. This girl inspires me first of all because she is the first female Biggest Loser, and secondly because we have some things in common. We are a similar age, height and starting weight. I love seeing success stories from people who are like me!
  • Healthy snacks. The produce from the farmer's markets is the best of the best, and Matt has been bringing me some good stuff. Whenever I pack some of it with me to work, I have a good day. Speaking of which, I have determined that my morning routine makes or breaks my entire day. If I take the time to pack healthy snacks, my water bottle, and my workout clothes in the morning, I can't go wrong. If I don't do it, I leave a lot of room for error!
  • Spark People. Has anyone else found this website? I started using it yesterday and I absolutely love it. There are a lot of sites with food trackers, but this one is the best. It also has a fitness tracker and a bunch of other features including Spark Pages for networking with others. If you're looking for an online tool to help with weight loss, you should check this one out. If anyone has already, my page is nicolemgk.

Do any of you weight loss warriors out there have your own tips for motivation?

6 comments:

Sarah H. said...

I'm with you too Nicole! We haven't been to any of the work outs yet at the same time, but I'm working at it as much as I can. My problem is the evenings. I'll do great the entire day, and then ruin it at night.

Anonymous said...

I've fallen off the bandwagon, but when I was going to the gym and stuff I LOVED sparkpeople. I still have a page on there (RebeccaMN). The boards are useful, and there are a lot of challenges and recipes and stuff, which is awesome. It's also a good place to find a "workout buddy" to email with and help keep you on track, if you are looking for something like that. I found it was a lot easier for me to help keep someone I don't know on track because I don't feel bad telling them they should get to the gym. :-)

Good luck on your goal, and great job getting started - that's the hardest part!

Anonymous said...

Nicole,

I am glad you are enjoying the Biggest Loser thing that they have going at the college. It is great that you are working out so much. Do not get discouraged about the scale. You are building up muscle, and losing fat in the process, and sometimes that does not show alot on the scale. But I am sure you will start seeing a difference in how your clothes fit and how you feel in general. I am sure it will start showing weightwise also.

I have lost about 10 lbs. now. I initially lost 11 lbs. quite awhile ago, but then it got stuck at this one weight. I could not seem to get below it no matter how hard I tried.

Course at my age, menopause and taking meds are also working against it.

So I am just trying natural means to lose weight. One thing that has really helped me get below the initial weight is Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil. I ordered it off the internet. You can read up on that youself (it's many benefits). I also have quite using milk and use rice milk instead. I use it on my oatmeal and in making smoothies. I eat alot of yogurt. I eat mainly vegetables, fruit, fiber, and not too much meat lately. Trying to cut out most sugar.

Another thing that will give your body a boost (almost acts like a thermogenic effect) is raw apple cider vinegar. I buy the organic kind called Bragg's. It need to be the kind with "mother" in it - which is the raw pectin. I don't like mixing it in water, so I just take two teaspoons and gulp that down, then drink a glass of water afterwards.

I know I need to get going on the treadmill again.

Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

Great site with all kinds of healthy snacks. WholeAndNatural.com. I am sure you will find something you like.

Quebecca said...

yes, yes...! I also am working on losing 10 lbs (my master's degree is firmly planted around my middle). I am keeping a food journal (which I started doing BEFORE they released the study showing that doing so causes people on average to lose twice as much weight). It is VERY eye-opening to see how much I eat. I am prone to eat less when I have to write down (and calculate the calories for using www.thecaloriecounter.com) every little thing.

I have been drinking sparkling water - the carbonation fills up my belly but there are no calories, no caffeine (and now that I'm used to it, pop is too sweet).

Also, I am working out at least 5 days per week, and lifting weights 3 of those days. I am lifting heavy weights to build muscle (we women won't get ripped no matter what we do, don't worry), because defined looks better than flabby, and because increased muscle = increased metabolism.

I also joined that Spark People last night (username = quebecca) but it took so long to enter the stuff in the food journal that I will probably continue with my little day planner I bought for this (plus I can pop it into my purse and take it with me anywhere).

Rebecca C said...

Good for you, Nicole. I watched Biggest Loser all last season and really enjoyed it, so could identify with your finding Ali to be a source of encouragement. (I also loved watching the change of heart in ... Mark? ... forgot his name, but he went from being "woof! tough guy!" to really tender and genuine. What a transformation!)

Here's a weight loss approach that I don't necessarily recommend but which worked -- I've developed all sorts of food allergies so now have to avoid all dairy, gluten (= bread! cake! breaded foods! crackers!), shellfish, and soy. It's complicated and a hassle to eat this new way so the accompanying weight loss has at least been a silver lining. I get negative feedback from my sinuses the very next day if I eat those foods, so it's a somewhat different discipline from the one you're having to pursue. (Farmer's market veggies are my friends, too.)

Best wishes on your journey to better eating, and enjoy the smaller clothes when you get to buy them!
Rebecca C from Gig Harbor