Back on track with the diet

It took gaining all those lost kilos to actually get me back on track with my diet. The whole of 2010, I practically 'forgot' to count kalories. Subconsciously I remembered, but the mind was always so clever to deny the necessity of doing it. Not surprisingly, I gained most of the eight kgs that I lost in 2009. What can I say? Malaysian food are just too tempting. You step in a shop areas and wafting aromas of food embrace you straight away.

Four months into 2011- I forced myself to go back to the healthy diet that I used to adhere to strictly in 2009. After all, I've been telling myself to do it since the dawn of 2011. It was such a big challenge. A battle that I constantly lost. Then two of my brothers started losing weight-really lose weight. One of them lost 12kgs in a month. His secret? No rice. Strictly no rice. Awww...my favourite staple. And so after celebrating the end of semester in style with my colleagues, I vowed to be off-rice. That was two weeks ago. Well, I cheated 3 times. Took a little bit of rice for lunch. Just a few tablespoonfuls.

The results? Still have a long way to go but losing 2 kg in 2 weeks gives me a nice feeling. I feel more motivated now. Hoping that this determination lasts...

Dwindling fire

It's been two months that the weight has decided to remain stagnant. The most I lost in the two month period was 0.5kg, then I gained it again. It is indeed very frustrating. There's still so much to get rid of. I can feel the flabs and the bulges that I've yet to lose (eeuw...), and yet I can't make myself work any harder to achieve the goal. Oh dear, dwindling fire... I can barely remember the motivation that I started off with in Feb. How I used to be so motivated! I guess what happened gradually between February and now have been:
1. addiction to baking - I feel like I'm missing out on the good things in life if I don't learn to bake properly (sigh). Now it's at least a baking session per week.
2. too little time- and not necessarily spent on doing my real 'work'. Could also be on playing scrabble online (It hurts to admit this but scrabble has taken precedence over my exercise time)
3. winter- what a lame excuse. But it does get me hungry all the time, thus the calorie intake exceeded the recommendation.

At least the good thing that still remains is my calorie consciousness. I try to take food from the empty-cal group when I'm hungry- fruits etc.

I really need to reignite the fire.

Why do I feel VERY hungry?

I was beginning to wonder whether I was counting the calories right or whether I was doing something wrong. Last night towards midnight I felt extremely hungry although according to my calculation I've consumed enough food to make up the needed 1400 cal requirement of my body. I had 2 glasses of fresh apple-carrot juice and half a mug of oat for breakfast, 1 mug of white tea for morning tea, 2 bowls of clear chicken soup with a small portion of chicken, a large bowl of salad and half a cup of white rice for lunch, plenty of water and a hot cross bun for afternoon snack, and a large bowl of soup with fresh greens and 2 slices of watermelon for dinner.

I thought I might have even taken more than I should have. But strangely enough hunger pangs started at around 10pm and got worse. It was so bad to the extent that I couldn't concentrate on the journal article I was trying to read. At 11.30pm I completely lost my willpower and had a mug of watery milo and three small crackers. And I was still hungry that I ate a banana. Needless to say, it put me in a sour mood.

Trying hard to justify my failure to stick to the healthy diet regime, I tried to blame it on PMS. Yet it didn't make me feel any better.

Today I had to do a bit of digging on the facts about hunger. I realized that many people who are trying to lose weight experience the same thing. Some people suggest that it is due to the lack of sugar level in the blood. Some say that it is due to not taking enough from all the food groups. Yet another says the body could be in shock, esp for those who just started changing their diets. And I also stumbled on a fact that emotions can also trigger hunger pangs.

I still don't know what caused my hunger last night. I guess it's a combination of various factors. Today I try to increase fruit intake a little bit, to see whether it's all due to low sugar level. 2 cups of fresh fruit juice and a few apples or bananas. I might even allow myself a small choc egg later, that is if I can find the time to increase my exercise time... (How I miss my comfort snacks).

Calories oh calories

Not sure whether I ever bothered about the term 'calorie' before. Well I knew it's something to do with food energy. Now that it has become an all important word to me, I've taken the initiative to find out a bit more about it:

"To lose weight, all you need to do is create a calorie deficit. This can be achieved either, by reducing your calorie-intake below your maintenance level; or by keeping your calorie-intake static and increasing the number of calories you burn."

"Our calorie needs - meaning the number of daily calories we require to maintain our weight - depend on a number of factors.
Our age, gender, weight, height and exercise routine are the main variables in assessing calorie-needs.
But body composition is important, too. Because lean tissue (muscle) is more metabolically active than fat, the higher our body fat percentage, the fewer calories we require."

"Calorie Intake and Age
The principle reason for this age related weight gain is a decline in lean muscle mass due to inactivity and the aging process. This loss of lean muscle causes a slow down in our metabolic rate - the rate at which we burn calories. For example, between the ages of 30 and 70 muscle mass typically decreases by an average of about 30 per cent in most people."

"Age-Related Weight Gain
The above reduction in muscle mass typically leads to a weight gain of about 5 pounds per decade (men) or 3.5 pounds per decade (women). "

In short:
1. As we get older, the more difficult it is to lose weight, hence the need to not gain.
2. The two ways in losing weight are: a) reduce or maintain calorie-intake or, burn more calories by exercising.

I'll have to stick to my 1481 cals requirement daily or less. It helps to have found these informative websites:
http://www.calorie-counter.net/
http://www.michellebridges.com/

Lifestyle makeover day 1

Phew, day one has to be the hardest. Calorie counting, constant reminding of no more than such amount of this, and most of all real physical exercise. My last gym visit was sometime last year. My first and last almost real exercise this year was badminton almost a month ago, during which I tore a tendon on my right elbow. That was when I swore to be off-badminton forever (maybe).

Went jogging with the kids today. The target is half an hour moderate exercise 6 day week. That would aid to the goal of reducing 1 - 1.5 kg per month. (I'd be happy with even 0.5kg). My body protested violently- I was itchy all over. My vision blurred at one point and I had to stop to take a long breathe. (Showed how I have forgotten all about warming up and stuffs).

Did 10 rounds of 400m at the park. Then let the kids led me with their fun activities- star jump, police game, musical bob. At least something fun. The thought of 'just running' was extremely boring it almost made me cry.

Achieved the stipulated 30 minutes today. Looking forward to tomorrow with more fun activities from the kids...

Long Overdue Diet Plan

As usual, it was 'living in denial' for me. I know I am 15kg overweight and I should have taken measures to overcome the problem years ago. Except that I gave excuses like I'm a mom of three, what do I expect? Or I am too busy now, I'll do it when my current project is done. Etc etc.

Today reality hit home. My dietician cousin E casually asked whether I was overweight...err...yup, I am. Then we talked about health risks that run in the family, and how we should try to avoid them at all cost. And the dear girl offered to plan my diet based on my BMI. For which I am grateful.

I received my diet plan and am quite excited to start on it! (I hope this time it is not one of those typical lukewarm attempts like I did every time after giving birth). E said that reducing 1-1.5kg per month is achievable...and so we target a loss of 7kg by October this year. (Would be good to have a makeover by my 36th birthday).

I'm going to really give this a go. No lame excuses. No excuses allowed. Here we go, mom. Stick to the diet plan. On your mark, get set, go...