I know this blog is mostly about the kids, and the family things we do together, but I have to tell you about a little change in lifestyle that I’ve undergone. It all started just after I visited JoEllen in Fargo at the beginning of May. She was still trying to loose a little bit of baby weight after having Paizley, and she was using an app on her phone called My Fitness Pal (MFP). It is a calorie journaling app that lets you set a fitness goal and then it calculates how many calories you should be eating each day to reach that goal. There are millions of foods, restaurants, and meals already entered into their database, so it makes it easy to enter the different things you eat each day. It also remembers meals you’ve used, so you can just copy them from one day to the next if its something you eat regularly. You also enter all of your exercise, which ends up giving you more calories that you are allowed to eat for the day. Dave had used this app last summer when he decided he wanted to loose some weight, and it was really helpful for him too. He, by the way, has lost over 30 pounds since one day in June when he stepped on the scale and saw 199. Not wanting to ever go over 200, he decided it was time to do something about that, which was when he started MFP. He had never really paid any attention to what he was eating, and didn’t know the calorie amounts in all of his usual meals. Add that to being on the road every day for work and having to eat fast food most days, and it added up. For him, just knowing what he was eating—and cutting out regular soda and beer—made a huge difference. Dave has since added quite a bit of exercise, mostly weight training to his routine, and he looks awesome. Most of you would say “how in the world did he have 30 pounds to loose?!” Well, apparently he did because the change is impressive.
Ok, back to me. I decided after I visited JoEllen that it was my turn to set a goal and make an effort to reach it. I set a goal to loose 10 pounds, which didn’t seem like much, but I knew it would be enough to make a difference. I also had no idea if it was reasonable or attainable. The added incentive for me in all of this is that I really want to get better at trapeze. I am so in love with this new sport that I have a crazy new motivation to do whatever it takes to get better. MFP has been so helpful for me because it forced me to be accountable for all of the things I eat throughout the day. I’ve never really had a weight problem, and eat a fairly healthy diet for the most part, but I am also prone to snacking and especially to sweets. It also helped me to see how many calories were in particular things, which helped me to make better choices about what I ate. I eat much less bread than I used to after seeing how many calories are in bread. I snack on things like almonds, cheese, and fruit rather than processed granola bars or candy. We are making a big effort to eat less processed foods, and rarely do we make the just add water processed box dinners at night. It really has been much easier than I thought it would. I am rarely hungry during the day, even though I’m keeping my calorie count much lower. Although I’m still entering my food in MFP every day (or, most days at least), I probably wouldn’t need to keep doing it. I now know what I should and shouldn’t be eating, and I have an idea of when I have enough calories to spare to be able to indulge in a couple pieces of dark chocolate or a glass of wine at night.
The other major change is I’ve added a significant amount of exercise to my routine. I wrote about joining a gym back in June of 2010, and how I had started going to a class at my gym called Body Pump. For the past 3 years, I’ve been going consistently to that 5:15 am class twice a week, and sometimes once on the weekends. I would also occasionally, but not consistently, use the cardio equipment or attend a random spinning class. I saw a difference after I first started Pump, but it was nothing more than a little toning of my muscles. Since May when I started using MFP and seeing how many more calories I could eat in a day that I worked out, it made me want to go to the gym more and more! The first change was I started another group fitness class at my gym called Body Attack. It’s a 60 minute, high intensity cardio class. I had always heard that it was a great class and had seen people walking out if it dripping in sweat. The instructor I like so much teaches it too, so that was motivation. I was always worried it would require too much coordination, and I was hesitant to go that first time because I didn’t want to look like a dummy. Well, for the most part, I did just fine that first time, and have been going once or twice a week ever since. The other change was that I also signed up for the employee incentive program at the fitness center at my college. For only $25, we can use the gym for the entire semester, and if we get the required number of hours in (33 for a 16 week semester), we get our money back. We have a really nice gym there, and I really have no reason not to have been using it all these years. My excuse was always that I didn’t want to go down there and get sweaty during the day and then have to go back to work. I have since decided that I didn’t care (nothing a little spritz of body spray and fresh deodorant can’t fix), and really enjoy taking a break from whatever I’m doing in my office to get a little exercise in the middle of the day. So, if you’re counting, my workout routine has been something like this most weeks: Monday I either go to my gym at 5 am and do cardio or use the gym at work, Tuesdays at 5:15 am I go to Body Pump and then I fly trapeze on Tuesday nights (and some days still go down to my work gym for some cardio or a yoga class), Wednesday is 5:15 am Body Attack and some weeks, trapeze again, Thursday is 5:15 am Pump and sometimes another round of cardio at work, Fridays I tend to take off, but will sometimes do some light cardio at work…Saturday morning is Body Attack, and Sunday is another rest day. It’s a great variety and it has really been fun. I hate missing a work out, and try to make sure I’m allowing time for it almost every day. My Body Pump instructor even asked me the other day what I’ve been doing because she noticed a change in my appearance. That felt good….
So, long story short—I’ve met and exceeded my original goal of loosing 10 pounds. I’ve actually lost more like 12-13 pounds, and have really toned up my muscles. I’ve relaxed a little bit on my calorie counting since I’ve developed such a strong workout routine. I know it’s important to get enough calories to be able to sustain that much activity. It’s great to be able to see results and to feel so good. I hope that I am able to keep up this routine, or at least most of it because I really do feel awesome. Thanks to Dave for being so supportive (all of the extra mornings at the gym) and for being there to do it all with me. Making fitness and health a part of our lifestyle is important—it’s important for us to be healthy and to feel good about ourselves (hello increased confidence!), but it’s also important that we’re teaching our children the value of being healthy and active. They will see us making time to be active and they will hopefully value it themselves as they grow up. Starting these healthy habits for our children young will help them to lead a healthy active lifestyle from the beginning. I want to be one of those families that is active together! I think we’re on our way…..
