Thursday, September 3, 2009

Finding that balance again

Life goes on

So, the pity-party is done. I am tired of the ups and downs and excitement of a new program or embracing a new idea. New programs and new information can be just as enticing as the magic bullet - and sometimes used as a magic bullet. And it makes me get way out of balance.

For me, I'm gently returning to basics: counting calories (ALL OF THEM) and moderate exercise. I also decided to embrace a not-very scientific way of calculating my caloric needs. It's a rough guess, but will work for now: I used a caloric needs calculator and set my weight as my GOAL weight and lifestyle as sedentary. The result is that I try to consume between 1500 and 1600 calories per day. And the result of that is a very slow weight loss. But it's doable.

Note the parenthetical (ALL OF THEM). I take my coffee with a little bit of sweetener (maybe a teaspoon) and half and half - a good splash. I haven't really been terribly worried about the caloric impact of my coffee. One cup isn't so bad - but 4 cups is another story and I generally drink abut 4 cups per day for a whopping 200 calories. YIKES. Immediate steps - limit sugar (agave nectar) to my first cup of the day and reduce my intake at work to 1 cup. It's helping. In the days before I started paying attentiong to the dangers of using artificial sweeteners, I often would put two (or more) Splenda packets in my coffee and a generous pour of fat-free half and half. The caloric impact of the artificial food was minimal but in my quest to reduce my intake of fat on sugar on salt (real or fake), I forgot to factor in the increased calories. I'll gladly cut my amount of real food and keep consuming it vs going back to pouring chemicals down my throat.

As far as exercise goes - I am toying with the idea of ordering the Chalean Extreme DVD program. I've heard nothing but good stuff about it and I do want to ramp up (reasonably) my strength training. I've reduced the intensity of my cardio workouts and that's helping me not dread them so much. That and some new downloads on the iPods.

So - life goes on. In a much more balanced, less frantic way. I like that.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like you have reasonable plan, one you can stick with and feel good about without have to dwell on it too much. Congrats for picking yourself out of the muck!

    ReplyDelete

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