Okay folks, if you follow me on MyFitnessPal, then you’ve seen that I’m working on getting back into logging my calories and toeing the line for my nutrition. I really like the 21 Day Fix containers because they have taught me a lot about how to get in the right ballpark of macros and calories while eating healthy, whole foods – but I’m clearly overestimating my portions again and letting things slide, so it’s time to change things up. I’m super Type-A in general, so calorie counting tends to work really well for me.
7 years ago I started this blog when I was feeling overweight (172#) and unhappy, and over the next 6 months I slowly and steadily lost 20#. It’s time to do that again, so I’m going to be back on Wednesdays with weekly weigh-ins. The difference this time around is that I’m going to focus on eating fresh, whole, healthy foods and not just low-fat, low-cal processed foods to stay under my goal. Thankfully I’ve learned a lot about the importance of the quality of food over the past 7 years. 🙂
Nutrition Goals
Nutrition-wise, my initial goal is going to be a 40/30/30 macro split (carbs/fat/protein) and to lose 1.5# per week (so a 750 calorie deficit per day). On my sedentary desk work days that’s generally around 1,300 calories per day, shorter workout days usually get me up to 1,600 calories, and longer run days bump me up closer to the 2,000 mark. Luckily, MFP links with my FitBit, so it automatically adjusts my net target calorie intake throughout the day based on my activity levels.
Exercise Goals
In combination with that, I’m going to commit to working out at least 3 days per week. That’s less than I have been doing, but I think I need to make nutrition and sleep the priority right now before I focus on exercise so much again. It really is 80% about your diet, and I need to get back to that. I’ll probably be doing a mix of my 21 Day Fix workouts, PiYo workouts, and outdoor runs when it’s nice enough outside to do so.
Initial Weight Loss Goals
Oct. 3 (Beginning weight): 173.8#
Oct 31 (Halloween, 4 weeks out): 168#
Nov 24 (Thanksgiving, 7.5 weeks out): 163#
Dec 25 (Christmas, 12 weeks out): 159#
Jan 20 (my 35th birthday, 15.5 weeks out): 155#
10/05/2016: 173.2#
10/12/2016: 171.9#
Weight Loss: Down 1.3#
Food Tracking: 3/7 days, but I focused on mindful eating all week.
Exercise: Only 1 run. I need to get back into this even when it’s cold & dark in the morning!
So there ya go, it’s back to the basics for me! It’s funny how a loss of 1-1.5# per week seems SO frustratingly slow, yet in 6 months that would allow me to be 25-40# lighter.
Slow and steady wins the race!