One of the goals I shared in my last post is to lose three pounds during the month of October. This is just the start of my journey to clean up my engine and ultimately drop 10-15 pounds before the start of Ironman training in February. So my Triathlife friends can help keep me accountable, I will tell you that my starting weight is 136. I'm trying to get to 120-125. I'm not sure how realistic that is, as I haven't been at that weight for about five years (and we all know what happens to your metabolism around age 40!). The reason I'm trying to lose this weight is (1) so I have less to carry around the hills of Wisconsin next September!; and (2) so I have more energy for training and in my everyday life. I'm more motivated now than I have been in the last couple of years, so I will make this happen!
I'm not a big fan of diets, so my nutritional approach to weight loss is three-fold:
1. Calorie tracking
The calorie tracker on Livestrong.com, called The Daily Plate, is my absolute favorite calorie tracker. You can do it from your computer or a smart phone app, which is super convenient. This is truly the basis of my weight loss plan, as the bottom line is "calories in, calories out". It keeps me very aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. And right now it's very apparent that I'm still eating as if I'm training for an Ironman!
2. Eating clean
-- I'm an athlete so I will never completely cut carbs, but I have noticed that I tend to lose weight when I cut them back. I'm gluten sensitive (a topic for another post), so by completely cutting gluten from my diet this tends to help me cut back on overall carbs as well.
-- Lots more fruits and veggies. Instead of munching on chips when I'm hungry, I'll replace it with baby carrots. Or instead of cookies after dinner, I'll have some fresh berries. Easy, no?
3. Controlling what goes in my mouth
-- It takes a lot of time and planning, but bringing all of my own food to work (breakfast, lunch, snacks) helps me avoid caloric restaurant lunches and breakdowns when I get hungry for an afternoon snack. It allows me to know EXACTLY how many calories I'm eating.
-- Same goes for dinner....I'll try to cook a lot more of our meals, with the bonus being that leftovers can be turned into lunch!
This week has been great so far. I brought my breakfast and lunch to work every day. I even managed to cook dinner three days in a row. It's time consuming, but very worth it! I still have a ways to go to completely clean up the diet, but am very happy with the progress I'm making thus far. I'll let "HIM" weigh in on how he feels about all of this. :)
I'll keep you posted on some of our best eats and if you have any tips please send them my way!
- Her
I'm not a big fan of diets, so my nutritional approach to weight loss is three-fold:
1. Calorie tracking
The calorie tracker on Livestrong.com, called The Daily Plate, is my absolute favorite calorie tracker. You can do it from your computer or a smart phone app, which is super convenient. This is truly the basis of my weight loss plan, as the bottom line is "calories in, calories out". It keeps me very aware of what I'm putting in my mouth. And right now it's very apparent that I'm still eating as if I'm training for an Ironman! 2. Eating clean
-- I'm an athlete so I will never completely cut carbs, but I have noticed that I tend to lose weight when I cut them back. I'm gluten sensitive (a topic for another post), so by completely cutting gluten from my diet this tends to help me cut back on overall carbs as well.
-- Lots more fruits and veggies. Instead of munching on chips when I'm hungry, I'll replace it with baby carrots. Or instead of cookies after dinner, I'll have some fresh berries. Easy, no?
3. Controlling what goes in my mouth
-- It takes a lot of time and planning, but bringing all of my own food to work (breakfast, lunch, snacks) helps me avoid caloric restaurant lunches and breakdowns when I get hungry for an afternoon snack. It allows me to know EXACTLY how many calories I'm eating.
-- Same goes for dinner....I'll try to cook a lot more of our meals, with the bonus being that leftovers can be turned into lunch!
This week has been great so far. I brought my breakfast and lunch to work every day. I even managed to cook dinner three days in a row. It's time consuming, but very worth it! I still have a ways to go to completely clean up the diet, but am very happy with the progress I'm making thus far. I'll let "HIM" weigh in on how he feels about all of this. :)
I'll keep you posted on some of our best eats and if you have any tips please send them my way!
- Her
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