How I plan to calorie count my way back to my goal weight.

In this post, I'm going to layout my CICO plan. First off that's define CICO. CICO stands for calories in vs. calories out. Basic idea is that you burn more then you eat. This method worked for me before and I am hoping it will work for me again. Now as we all know everybody is different, and what works for me may not work for others; and what works for others may not work for me. I am not here to tell anyone how to do things, because I don't know you! I think it's important that each person finds what works for themselves. 

I want to start by saying that I don't have any set of "rules" that I follow. By taking away rules, I feel much less pressure. I'm not following a particular "program" or anyone else's guidelines. I typically just make stuff up as I go along, and learn from my mistakes.

We have all heard it before; "You must count calories to lose weight." Track everything you eat and all the calories you burn and if you have a deficit you did good for the day. I am currently using two apps. One for food tracking and one for fitness tracking. Both are synced up together and both offer tools I enjoy having and rely on. I started using the My Fitness Pal (MFP) app years ago and really enjoy it. The first thing I like about it is that it has a built in barcode scanner which is nice for recording food. The other feature I like about it is that I can access the calories for most if not all restaurants or fast food locations right from my phone before I eat the item and regret it later. The other app I enjoy using is my Fitbit Dashboard App. This tool is great for tracking my daily activity. It has the ability to track my sleeping patterns also but I just can't sleep with a watch on and am afraid to know how little I actually sleep. 

So you probably want to know how many calories I plan on eating a day? Here is where that science comes in. I believe that if you take Your Resting Metabolic Rate or  RMR  and subtract your consumption calories you will get your basic daily calories. Hopefully that number will reflect that you have a calorie deficiency. Now science says that it takes 3500 calories burnt to equal one pound of burned fat. My plan is to losing 2 pounds a week so I need to have a 7000 calorie deficiency at the end of the week. Here is my basic math:

RMR = 1708 Calories per day
Calories In = 1200 Calories per day
------------ 508 calorie deficit 

The goal is to be at 1000 each day so that I can reach the 7000 by the end of the week. This math then is telling me I need to burn (calories out) an additional 492 calories each day in some form of fitness. 

There are a lot of fitness articles that will tell you that you should eat your fitness calories or calories out as I call them. I do not believe in this. I believe that you need to make sure you consume or that your calories in are good calories that will keep your body fueled. But, I also believe that if you are hungry then you need to eat more. 

Now the fat girl that I am says that you need to have a high calorie day.. aka cheat day. I don't like to call it a cheat day.. I look at it more as a be reasonable and smart but don't stress the calories out. An example of this would be.. eat your normal healthy breakfast, healthy normal snacks, reasonable and normal lunch or dinner. Allow yourself to splurg on one of those two though. If you eat pizza have three small slices. Don't stress the 1100 calories when your normal dinner is 500 calories. That also means thought that you shouldn't eat the whole large. It's all about finding balance.  

I don't want to and don't plan on tracking all the macro nutrients like carbs, protein, sugar etc.. I want to keep things simple. This should help me from stressing and getting overwhelmed. My apps both track those things and there if I want to see them but really as long as my body feels fueled it will tell me if I need something else or less of something. The one thing I have found out is that there are more calories in fruits and veggies then I would like. I do plan however to track them even though I strongly feel they should be free.. By not tracking them I am only cheating myself. My Fitness Pal has an awesome recipe tracker on the app! When I'm cooking, I can literally just scan the barcode of ingredients and build the recipe right there on the app. Then it's saved for the next time I make the recipe, too. You can even import recipes from websites and swap out ingredients if you change things up. It's a really great tool!

---

I think that pretty much sums it up! I can't stress enough that it really helps to experiment to find what works for YOU. Try making your own rules and change them around until they fit for YOU. I think the approach I'm taking is very similar to intuitive eating--I'm eating what I want, I'm listening to my hunger cues, I'm not following any "rules"--only I happen to log my food and track the calories, so I can keep myself from getting out of hand.

I also want to make it clear that I am not trying to tell anyone at all how they should or shouldn't eat.  As I always say, find what works for you--something you can do for the long haul--and do that.  I'm not a doctor or scientist or nutritionist, or anything like that. I am just trying to keep it simple and something I can do for the long haul. 

Running from the bogeyman.

I wanna take you way way way back to 2013.. okay not really all that long ago but who doesn't like a dramatic opener to set the mood?!

It was the summer of 2013. I had just started out running around one of our local lakes. The lake path is almost a full 7 mile paved run. Beautiful run with only a couple distractions and obstacles along the way.  I liked to start in the same spot and knew the ins and out of the path pretty well. I knew where I could sit a minute and take a breath. I knew where I go stop and get a drink. I knew where I could pull out a wedgie without anyone noticing. I also knew where all the spooky and maybe a little creepy spots were. I loved this path. I jogged it every day.

Ever since I was a little girl watching Silence of the Lambs I have been fascinated with true crime shows and books. I don't know what it is about them; I guess I get lost in the thought that these sick people do some many horrible, unthinkable things to people and get away with it. Heck I can't pee alone in my house without someone finding me; but that's another blog another day.

This one particle day in June I was reading about this serial killer who was killing joggers and some how there bodies were missing for days, even months. Let's just say not a good read when you run alone either early in the morning or late into the evening. See I live in a "safe" town. Nothing happens here.. I mean nothing.. so nothing like this would ever happen here... right?!

Just like all serious runners I had all the latest gear. I had Nike run trackers. I had HR monitors. I carried my cell phone with running gps apps. You name it; I owned it. That evening I decided to go out on my daily jog. I started off with a good pace from my normal spot. It would be 2 miles before I would see anyone I knew. I stopped (big pet peeve of mine but what are you suppose to do) to visit for a couple minutes then continued on my way. At around mile marker 4 I started to think about the story I read that morning. I started thinking about my beautiful 7 mile run and what dangerous spots we have along the path. At mile marker 2 there is a 1/2 mile stretch of a beautiful shaded path. Very private and well now thinking maybe dangerous. Then at mile marker 5 the path runs along state forest land. Thick woods on one side and quiet street on the other.

I got to thinking this area is coming up and it would be the perfect place to grab someone. You guessed it.. fear set in. I got to thinking about how I would solve my own murder. By now my feet are really moving.. along with my heart rate. I think about the people I stopped to visit with. They would tell police that they saw me at approximately such in such time. I thought if abductor took me and I still had my shoes on - they would find my body because I had my Nike trackers on and clearly someone would think to check my last gps point; right? I turn my music up louder hoping to drown out my thoughts with some "single ladies" and the thumping of my heart beat. I make my way to mile marker 6 and think to myself - I am safe. I made it. I can slow down now.. I take a deep breath and can feel my heart rate slowing back down to normal. Then... tap tap tap.. out of nowhere a friend catches up with me and taps me on the shoulder. I don't think I have ever screamed so loud in my whole life. I am sure I scared off any future bogeymen at the same time breaking my personal best run time.

Moral of the story either run with a partner or do not read crime stories before an evening run in the woods.

Need To Reboot

I am 3 days into my week 1 new me, life style change.. aka diet restart. I am pretty sure this is my millionth time starting over. Now that the slowest winter appears to be behind us; it's time to reboot and once again find my inner thin (thinner) me.

With shorts and tank-top weather right around the corner, choices made during cold-weather months are starting to come to light. Were you "good" this winter? Did you stay consistent in your training? Was your diet on track?

I didn't think so.

Look, we're only human. We're fallible, and we burn out. It's not normal for us to find joy in eating out of containers and gagging down chicken all the time. Our training routine gets boring, and one day missed at the gym due to a scheduling conflict suddenly becomes one month missed. Let's say it.. sometimes you physically and emotionally need a break from training and measuring out your food. I get it.. me too.. and did. 

Your clothes are tighter, you're sluggish, and you've got a case of the "I don't wannas" or, even worse, the never-ending cycle of "I'll start over tomorrows." But tomorrow hasn't come yet, has it? Months of snuggling on the couch with a warm blanket and hot cup of cocoa—and pizza ordered in—are probably starting to show.

Summer's going to be here before you know it. What's your plan? Do you even have one? It's time to reboot. Let yourself off the hook for all your past mistakes. It's okay. We have all been there. You need to setup a plan. There are a million + diets, fitness workouts, gyms, magic pills, etc.. You need to find a plan that works for you. Start with something small like I plan on starting my couch to 5k again today or something like that. Make sure to practice self-forgiveness along the way. Your numbers will rebound with time. 

The real benefit is that you'll feel better, sleep better, have a more positive outlook, and genuinely feel more like yourself. Pushing yourself for those first few days is all you need to find yourself back on track and moving ahead at a comfortable speed. Just believe in yourself. Now get to it!

Two-Piece vs. Granny

As I look outside to the snow falling onto the frozen ground I can't help but think no dream and hope that summer will once again come.

Two summers ago I was at my lowest weight post kids. I was at 152 pounds and feeling sexy and happy with all my hard work. Now here I am back up to 192 pounds and all I see in the mirror is a fat depressed girl.

My boyfriend; bless his heart is so kind to me. He tells me all the time how sexy and beautiful I am. He almost had me talked into a two piece swimsuit.

But lets face it a woman my size should not be seen on the beach in anything less then a tent.
I have short chunky trunk legs. I have huge love handles. I have a bloated pregnant looking tummy with a front butt lower tummy. I have jiggly arms. I have bad skin. I get shave bumps, back of leg acne and am white as white can get. There isn't anything about me that should be in anything less then jeans and a hoodie all summer long.

So what is the right type of swim suit for this type of body type? Am I descended to wear an over sized "mom/granny" suit forever?