Happy New Year

So HAPPY NEW YEAR !!! I hope you all had a fabulous 2011 and I hope everyone has an even more brilliant 2012! :)

I have decided that this is the year to lose the blubber, I will never again be as fat as I was last and that is a very motivating thought. From TODAY on I am on a 'Diet' (I hate that word, it makes it seem to temporary) I want a long lasting, sustainable change so maybe I should call it 'My Little Revolution'.

Since today is the day that I begin I will spend the day getting organised and putting together my game plan. Firstly I am changing the name of the blog to the weight I actually wish to lose. Its my goal to post something on the blog every day to stay motivated, I may post something from today that I found interesting, my measurements, weight, consumed calories, burned calories and steps as well as photos. I probably wont do all these things everyday and I cannot promise that I will post everyday, but I really would like to. I would also like to add up my food in weight watchers points just to see how much I am getting in this way.

Little Goals and tasks I want to keep up and achieve:

- Drink lots and lots of green tea
- Take Cinnamon and Apple Cider Vinegar Supplements
- Drink Slimatea
- Don't go to Sleep too late
- Don't Eat  too late
- Do 20 000 steps a day
- Exercise twice a day
- No added salt
- Take the stairs in my apartment building

My main goal is to lose the weight by the end of August 2012, that roughly averages 1 lbs per week. In August I will be going to NYC for a fun trip with a fried so that is why I chose that date to begin my diet. The full diet will begin tomorrow as I like staring on a Monday, but today is me explaining everything and getting my food and everything planned out and organised.

And so begins My Little Revolution....

BodPod

I first heard of the BodPod on some TV documentary I watched in regards to weight loss and metabolism. Apparently it is some machine you sit into and it is about to measure your RMR and body fat as well as lean mass. I googled BodPod in Ireland and found that a University in Dublin has one. Yay, that's in Dublin so not too far away. I had to take the morning off work and went to UCD.

So first the Doctor, if that is what you call him, took some of my details, such as weight, height, age and fitness level. Then I got changed into loose clothing, shorts and a tshirt, and also I put on what looks like a shower cap. Apparently hair can interfere with the test so you have to make sure its fully covered. Once this is done he takes your weight again and measures it against the contraption you will be sitting inside and completes some other tests on the machine for calibration.

Once he has completed this I sat in the Egg like machine, I was asked to breathe normally, remain completely still and focus on one point in front of me. This only lasted for a minute or so and was completed twice to make sure the test was accurate. Here are the results:

Weight: 60kg

Height: 150cm

RMR: 1070

Est Calorie Expenditure (Sedentary): 1327

Est Calorie Expenditure (Low Active): 1626

Est Calorie Expenditure (Active): 1862

Est Calorie Expenditure (Very Active): 2215

Fat %: 36.7%

Fat Free Mass %: 63.3%

Fat Mass: 22 kg

Fat Free Mass: 38kg

So my fat percentage is about 37% which puts me into the excess fat category and 40% is the risky category. My ultimate goal is to get to the lower end of 22-30% fat which means that I will be in the moderately lean category.

So I think this information is invaluable as the information gained from websites and calculators was so inaccurate and confusing it was nice to be tested in an individual way that is unique to me. I think that this information cost me €65.

The Rules!

Here are the rules I will follow by for this Journey and my life:

- Believe I can do it

- Never Cheat

- Track Everything

- Blog lots

- Don't Give Up/Make it a habit

- Don't just do it for myself

My Thoughts

Believe I cam do it!!! (I'm still working on this one. I think my lack of consistency and regaining has made me lose my motivation, which is terrible. I cannot do this without motivation. I have just ordered a FitBit so this is getting me a little excited and motivated. I think that once I see a loss it will motivate me and keep me going.)

Never Cheat! (If I deviate from the plan I am not allowed to throw in the towel, I am to drop to the back up plan, take it easy and get motivated again to continue on the plan, perhaps it will be time to modify the plan at this stage)

Track everything (Track every calorie that goes in and every calorie that goes out. By this I mean take note of call the calories I eat in a food diary and also keep a note of my calorie expenditure in my exercise diary. I will do this using MyFitnessPall (online calorie/exercise diary) and ALSO using the FitBit and my RMR. Also I will regularly track my weight and measurements on this blog, probably once a week)

Blog Lots (To get motivation, to hold myself accountable. I don't think anyone readers this, which is ok, just the fact that its out there and people can read it make me accountable to all my potential readers. In my dreams I would like to be able to inspire people and myself, that they, and I, can do this. I awe at people who have achieved weight loss goals. But lots of people have loads of weight to lose, I only have 30lbs and am struggling. I need to be able to do this)

Don't Give Up (I have noted, on my journey that one thing I am very good at is giving up. However I am persistent but this time it has to be about consistency. I can say oh this chocolate bar doesn't count . OF COURSE T DOES!! everything counts!! I have to be realistic and consistent these are my friends on this new journey. I have to make it a habit, make exercise and a healthy lifestyle a habit, once it is it'll be easy as pie)

Don't just do it for myself (I have noticed that if I tell myself that I am doing this for someone else I am more likely to not over eat or go to the gym. If I do it for me I can make all sorts of excuses, but if I do it for someone else I cannot make excuses for them. I have asked by BF and my friend if it is ok to make them in charge (a little) of my exercise and food. So every time I don't want to go to the gym or want to over eat
I have to call them and give them my excuses they are then to decide if it is ok for me to do either. I have done this for a while, and maybe its a bad thing but it works for me. And I have noticed slowly that I call them less and less and am able to make the decisions on my own. I'm learning)

Day 2 - Commit to a Diet Plan

So this is the fun part where we get to think about in what way we would like to lose weight. Firstly a primary diet is chosen, this is the main diet you will stick to and then a back up diet is chosen in case you falter on the first one and don't go on a binge. This is in case you slip-up on the first one you will not fall off the wagon and binge but instead continue with a different modified diet plan. Its so that if the first plan just isn't working for you can fall back on the backup plan.


Judith (the author) ask you to chose your two diets (I prefer the word 'Plans' more) carefully, so as not to set yourself up for failure before you have even started. She says to plan modifications into the 'Plan' so that when an on the spot decision comes along you do not deviate from the plan.

So here are my choices:

- Calorie counting and Gym

- Weight Watchers and Gym

I chose calorie counting and exercise as my main diet- this is the most merited and advised way to control wight loss and maintain the lost weight. There is a lot of research and information including studies and online tools that can help you to lose weight. There are also lots of books and such that can educate on this subject and one cam make it strict or easy as they like.

Also I will try and investigate this as much as possible to keep my motivation up. I am getting my fitbit soon and have taken a trip to the local bodpod :) I will use regular weigh ins and measurements as motivation also.

I think that weight watchers is a great plan to fall back on as its a little simpler than calories counting and its a good place to fall back on as it can be a bit more easy going. Sometimes the calorie counting gets heavy and meticulous.