I started off going three times a week, trying to coordinate combining them with my wellness hours from my job.  A co-worker very kindly (bossily) provided me with a recommended (required) workout plan.  She lives on the other side of town and already goes to a different gym, but she and I check in with each other (almost daily!) and we also walk our lunch hours most days.  I mention all the above to highlight a feature of my diet plan being completely brought into play in my workout plan as well – accountability.  This is one element that those of us trying to adhere to one plan or another must completely embrace – and I don’t care whether that is weight loss, strength training, or even keeping to a financial budget or being a greener citizen.

I want to share my excitement with you all, dear readers, in the fact of this week being a week I have gone to the gym every single day (so far, but that includes from last Friday until this morning).  I am trying to build a habit.  I want to physically walk through the doors of the gym every day, at least once (I say that because I’ve been tempted to go twice sometimes).

I started my newbie gym membership by going in the evening, after I had already been home.  The intent was to go with my boyfriend, whose membership I am actually using.  He went the first day and then the third time I went, and that’s all.  I, well, I got hooked.  My first two weeks, I went with the intent to tone, and I would still walk my walks outdoors.  That didn’t last very long.  The convenience of their cardio machines lured me into doing some of my cardio right there.  I also changed my routine to include waking around 5am and hitting the gym before work.

I am learning so many new things, things that seem like common sense.  So many people have been giving me advice on exercising, as well as dieting, to tone the muscles and build up metabolism.  What does that even mean?  Did you know that the more muscle you have in your body, the higher your resting metabolic rate?  It is hard to picture, for those of us in the couch-potato mode.  We burn calories, just existing.  Sleeping, sitting, breathing, meditating (or sleeping!), we still have things going on in our systems that require fuel (energy = calories).  However, a 150-pound person with more muscles than a 150-pound person with less, will burn more calories doing the exact same nothing.

I don’t want to bulk up, though.  That’s ok – first, I’m female, and unless I really work at it, I shouldn’t bulk up.  I’m personally rather worried about my legs though.  I’ve mentioned that I’m walking a lot.  Also, it’s my legs that have carried the brunt of my weight gain (yeah, ok, and my back), so it feels like my calves are really bulky.  I am hoping that as I lose weight, the muscles will slim down to compensate for the lighter load.

But the rest of me won’t bulk up.  At least that’s what everyone is telling me.  I am, however, concentrating on strength and toning.  I want to ensure that as I lose my goal of 100 pounds total, that I don’t end  up with flappy flesh all over.  I want to be pretty, after all, or all this work would be useless, right?  So, what I’ve learned from my sadistic workout buddy co-worker, my friendly Charter Fitness staff, and all sorts of websites all over is: low weights, lots of repetitions.  Even with this precaution, in the last week, I’ve actually increased my weight levels for many of my exercises.

Finally, you want to know, how much more weight have I lost?  NONE.  I am highly discouraged, but also determined.  I have not really gained any weight either, but I am definitely feeling more fit.  I am walking faster, and I am doing more at the gym.  I need to go back to monitoring closely what I eat (I have now “graduated” to full food, but still need to watch the caloric levels), and keep up a high cardio ratio.  When I started my membership at the gym, I really cut down the cardio workout.  I am still doing my hour walks at lunch, but my hour walk in the mornings have become half hours on the treadmill followed by whatever that day’s scheduled strength.

I am developing a routine, a habit.  As I learn more each day about what my personal fit is, I’m adapting it to match my plan needs.  What I am learning for myself is this: I need a plan.  I work best with guidelines and expectations, as well as accountability and predictability.  What works best for you?

I do enjoy hiking and light mountain climbing – mostly for the scenery and fresh air.  I like fishing and camping, but other than small bursts of activity, most of that is still sitting quietly in one place.  I like to bicycle – again, sitting…  But everything in this paragraph required convincing.  Convincing myself to get off my duff and get out of the house and go do it.  Oh, yeah – I like the outdoors, but hate the sunshine – and I hate, hate, hate getting dirty.  Yeah, so maybe not so much on the outdoors.  But I like fresh air – can I get that piped in to me?

So, the first never-ending cycle: I’m sedentary, which leads to a slower metabolism, which leads to being more sedentary, which leads to a slower metabolism, which leads to….

Alright, then – what is this post all about?  Well, in the last few months, I have been exercising more and more – mostly just walking.  This started along about August last year, with my co-workers literally dragging me out of the building and making me go walk for one or two 15-minute breaks.  Seriously? They wanted me to walk TWICE a day for a whopping 15 minutes EACH?!?!

Most doctors, nutritionists, exercise enthusiasts and websites will tell you that if you are not an active person, just getting up and moving for ten or fifteen minutes a day will help move your blood around and increase your metabolism.  What a bunch of hooey – right?  First of all, I felt that I walked slower than my co-workers, so I didn’t want to slow them down.  And I walk – I park my car further away from buildings than I need to and walk the extra distance – and I use the stairs, not the elevator.  These are all good tools for being a slug, right?

Well, yes – but I also started walking those fifteen minute breaks all on my own, without anyone there to goad me.  Then, I started walking my hour-long lunch breaks.  And then my stupid company sponsored a wellness day, with health care providers and vendors and other activities, including…  a three mile run (or walk) – I chose to walk it.  And I walked all of it.  wow.

Then I signed up for the weight-loss program, and actually signed up for our company’s sponsored wellness program – this is three one-hour periods each week, on company time, where I can do some kind of workout – I’m choosing: walking – yeah, I know, not very original, but….

I walk an hour first thing in the morning, and then an hour at my lunch, three days a week, and the other two days, I try to walk my hour lunch.  I also walk around my office and home a lot more now – instead of phoning or emailing a co-worker to consult on something, I’ll just go over and talk to them.  Instead of waiting until I have a pile of things to take to the kitchen or bedroom, I go each time with one item in my hand.   Insane, right?

I have found myself very antsy, if I cannot fit in a walk or a workout.  Did I forget to mention, I’ve now joined a gym?  What is the point of this huge litany?  To impress you with my athleticism?  No – the point is, the more I move, and the more I work into my day, the more I seem to crave exercise and physical activity.  I’m pestering my boyfriend all the time to go places, supermarket, mall, whatever to go browsing.  I just want to move around.  Almost too bad that I don’t have a dog.

And my mood!  I feel so much better on days when I walk, or work-out.  I feel as if I am doing something positive about my weight problem, about my over-all health and fitness.  But I am also putting aside some time just to be quiet in my mind.  Some alone time (even if I’m working out at the gym with my boyfriend) that I can spend mulling over the great thoughts of the universe – or absolutely nothing at all.

I am on a spiralling path of more and more activity – a never-ending cycle of fitness – and you know what? I’m alright with that.

Fighting weight problems is an uphill struggle for anyone.  I am learning that this struggle will be a life-long journey.  It is natural to set rather high expectations, and then punish ourselves when we “fail” to meet those expectations.

A friend and I had a discussion recently regarding food as an addiction.  There is a generally voiced complaint by “overweight” folks, that is just as generally dismissed by “normal-weight” folks, that we cannot succeed at a diet because we are addicted to food.

First thing I need to acknowledge is that we need food to survive – we have to intake some food.  That being said, those of us struggling to manage our weight view food in a far more complex manner than as mere fuel.  As with any addict (drug, alcohol, gambling, etc), a food addict must make the decision to begin any plan on their own.  Family and friends, regardless of how well-intentioned, only end up hurting their overweight loved one when they push that person to diet, exercise and lose weight.  The message we perceive is that we are not good enough to be loved by you because we are fat and not your image of a perfect person.

I began my story by relating to you, dear reader, that I was finally goaded into taking steps because I did not want to be put on insulin for my Type 2 Diabetes.  That was my personal motivation – yours will most likely be different.

But what’s keeping me on this diet? this plan? this journey?  As you can see from my previous posts, I have not adhered strictly to my plan with zero deviations.  That would be completely impossible, folks.  After ten years of developing my current habits, I am not going to reverse them in three days.  As a driven perfectionist, this has been my hardest pill to swallow.

So how do I cope with my inevitable “failures?”  Well, that was one of the things I needed to changes; I was an all or nothing type of gal.  If I messed up, I didn’t see taht tomorrow was a fresh start.  So, I would completely give up.

Because I elected to enroll in a paid, medically-supervised program with weekly accountability built right in, I couldn’t really fall back on my habit of giving up.  I will also admit at this juncture that I am fairly money-driven as well, and I know it.  This is why, although I wanted to several times, I felt that I couldn’t just give up – not after I spent six hundred dollars out of my own pocket.

When I did slip and fall, I got right back on board, and that small change in my patterns has made an incredible difference in my overall attitude.  I am beginning to understand that it is the overall trend, and the journey as a whole which will matter the most to my weight loss, and ultimate weight management.

I still fully intend to get down to my goal weight of 140 pounds.  I am not even going to set a date on that.  What is most important is that I am keeping a downward trend.  I may be two pounds heavier today than I was yesterday, but I have lost over twenty-two pounds since I began this program on November 9.  Tomorrow, I will be one pound lighter.  If I gain two more pounds over the weekend, but then lose three pounds over next week, and so on, and so on, I will be successful.  My health is at risk – but not immediately so.  Every pound I lose will increase my overall health, but gaining back one or two pounds with a net loss is not going to hurt me.

I am also stepping up my physical activity, both my everyday activity and my exercise regimen.  But if I take a day off and lay around the house like a slug, that won’t kill me either.  But every day that I fit in a walk, or do some sit-ups, or run through my aerobics routine, is another feather in my cap.  (To be honest, I’ve gotten to the point where I feel antsy if I haven’t done something.)

The entire point of this post, my dearest friends, is that there is no failure on a diet.  Simply put, there is always tomorrow.  If you are starting to eat healthier, and you want to splurge, you’ll feel it.  You may become physically uncomfortable, you may feel bloated, and you may feel guilty.  The guilt or regret you should go right ahead and feel, in moderation.  Don’t let it steal any pleasure that you may have derived from that splurge – sometimes you need it.

For example, I realize and acknowledge that I do use food as a stress-aid, an emotional fall-back and a mood lifter when I get depressed.  I’ve been very depressed and stressed recently.  I’ve gone out when I “shouldn’t have,” and I’ve eaten certain foods which I “shouldn’t have.”  So be it.  I needed that piece of pie the other night.  I had had a really bad day, and it made me feel better.  I could have had a slice of apple or something, true, but I am not going to beat myself up for it.  I will fully acknowledge that I could have made a more diet-conscious choice, accept that I made an emotionally driven choice instead, and move forward with the knowledge that I can plan for a better planned day of meals for the next few days, add a few more minutes to my exercise sessions, and come out in a couple of days weighing even less than I did last Monday (at my official weigh-in), and I am still doing fabulously.

Since I didn’t have any (many) other techniques for dealing with the party situation, and since so many very yummy treats were offered, I partook, and didn’t even count the calories.  I also forgot, when trying to recreate the crime-scene later, that I did have a few alcoholic drinks – guess what? those alcoholic drinks have calories too!

So, New Year’s Eve, the following Friday, with boredom and some personal stress added in, a treat to my favourite Dim Sum restaurant on Sunday, and you can imagine my horror at my regular Monday weigh-in.  Yes, I had gained five pounds.  Five and a half!

Now, the success: I got right back on the program.  Monday, January 4, I had a little chat with myself.  The entire holiday season was officially over, no more excuses.  Listen, no guilt – because we all deserve a little party, a little splurge, a holiday!  And, I am so ecstatic that I get this, I have the tools I need to keep up, or resume, my weight loss.  So, I did.  I started back in with my shakes, and my put-together meal.  I started my exercise again.  When I weighed in on the 11th, I had lost seven pounds.

Honestly, I’m not sure exactly if I really gained and lost those five pounds.  It could have been some water weight, or other temporary body mass fluctuations, which I really don’t want to go into during a discussion of my own reality.  But the net over the two weeks was a loss of two pounds, and that is number I can accept.

Having regular check-ups is a good thing, when you are actively working towards a goal of any kind.  My weekly weigh-ins are very, very helpful.  But every once in a while, you need some follow-up.  On this program, we schedule a re-measurement about two months into the program.  This week, I had my re-measurement and my diabetes follow-up with the endocrinologist (two separate appointments).

During my re-measurement, we confirmed that I had lost 8.5% of my starting weight.  I had increased my “multiplier,” which is the indicator of metabolism.  And I had lost inches from all over.  Half an inch from my neck to three inches from around my waist!  I complained to my nutritionist that I can’t see the change in my clothes, and she retorted that it would be more apparent if I had been wearing clothes that fit in the first place.  I wear baggy clothes.  They were baggy when I started, and I guess they’re baggier now – but that’s why it’s not apparent to me.

We discussed the fact that I only have three more weeks in the program.  I asked if it was time for me to move to real meals.  So, I am now on five regular meals.  1400 calories per day – this will keep me still on a losing path (that’s good, in this case) – but transition me off from an unrealistic shakes-only diet.  I can still use those protein shakes, especially to supplement those mid-meal snacks, but I can also use real “snacks” – some protein carb combo that is less than 150 calories and no more than 15 grams of carbs – ah yes, didn’t think I remembered that I’m diabetic, did you?

Brings me to my appointment with Dr. Ferraro.  I think I was in there fifteen minutes – my readings have averaged 128.  He started off by saying that he wanted to see me back in six months – then thought he’d better check with me in three (not too far from the ending of my weight-loss program).  I went to have blood drawn to check my A1C, and will do so again in April, right before my appointment.  I am hoping the results of this one will not be too disastrous.

I have only been on my real meal diet for two days – day 1 went spectacularly well – I ended the day on 1100 calories.  Less actually, because I now round up to make my math easier.  Now that I am responsible for my own diet (in the real sense of the word), I will have to be vigilant in researching what I eat, how much I eat, in what proportions and how it’s cooked.  Oh goodness, that was a horrible sentence, but I hope you know what I mean.  The jump-start to the program was great – and if you intend to do it, with or without supervision, make sure it is not a long-term thing.  My “perfect” day on the meal-replacement was four shakes and one frozen entree of known caloric value.  Incredibly easy to grab and go.

Now, I have to plan breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two snacks.  Self-contained snacks are great – like my shakes – or a yogurt, or something.  But that still leaves me with three meals about which I need to be intelligent.  I’ve decided that one technique I’m adopting will be to cook enough dinner for four portions, including my boyfriend’s meals, and that will allow a known quantity of calories and no extra brainstorming to roll over for lunch the next day.

I am continuing with my daily exercise regimens, although I need to add strength training into the mix.  I feel more fit, and more energetic.  And when I reach the next milestone – which is to have a number on the scale less than 200, I’m going on a tiny little shopping spree.

That last statement brings our discussion to rewards.  You have to reward yourself.  The end result will be a reward in itself, but being human, we want those stupid little pats on the back, don’t we?  I fully intend to get down to my goal weight of 140 (maybe this year, maybe not – not pushing it, as long as there’s a downward trend).  But at those mid-journey mile-stones, you have to stop and congratulate yourself.  Now, a dinner out might NOT be the best choice, so I’m going to treat myself to one or two new outfits – tailored or form-fitting, whichever feels better, but it will be nice to get something a size (or two?) smaller than my current 18.

Special note for today: My blood glucose level after my walk and right before lunch was 89.  I’m not “normal” yet – but it is so nice to see.

This is not necessarily a diet challenge, but more of a fitness or health challenge – to concentrate on the first ten weeks of 2010.  The challenge began January 2, but I didn’t learn of it until yesterday (1/5).  So, since she’s still accepting participants, I signed up, and am planning to re-dedicate myself to a healthier me in 2010.

I am already enrolled in SWENDO’s Weight Management Program, so the first part of my commitment is merely to adhere to the program.  I must admit at this point that I fell off the wagon over the New Year weekend.  But I picked myself back up on Monday, with the knowledge that the “evil holidays” are now over, and I can buckle myself down and get to work.

My goals are three-fold: 1) Get my blood sugar down, 2) get my weight down, and 3) get my fitness level up.  They all go hand-in-hand.  I won’t just be focussing on any one of these, but I will be trying to use a combination of all three to bring up the level of my overall health.  My long-term goal is still to rid myself of my type 2 diabetes, and get down to 140 pounds.  My medium-term goal is to hike the La Luz trail.  My short-term goal is to go to my January 19th doctor’s appointment and remain clear of the insulin prognosis.

Thank you, Lori and company, for issuing us the #10in10 challenge and giving me this added impetus and support network to achieve my goals.  How can I help you, dear readers,  in achieving yours?

Although I’m still hoping to reach super-model status by February 9th, let’s not forget that the entire reason and only impetus for me to have started this weight loss program at this juncture in my life was: to avoid the insulin monster, and maybe even kick the diabetes entirely.  (I’m told it can be done!)

As I mentioned, in my very first week on this diet, my blood sugar levels dropped dramatically: from completely out of control, to within acceptable levels.  Ok, what are acceptable levels?  Every diabetic determines this with their doctor.  I’ve been told that on an empty stomach, I should be between 120 – 140 and two hours after eating, definitely under 180.  Now – depending on the diabetes training or doctor, that’s actually on the high side.  Some will tell you below 120 fasting and below 140 after meals (always at least 2 hours after a meal).

Before I began this program, my blood glucose levels were consistently in the 300′s, or even 400′s.  I am very  bad about taking my medicine – I just simply forget; I’m not trying to skip doses or anything like that.  I have to admit, though: I also wasn’t very careful about what I ate.  I just got to the point where I was so apathetic about my weight and diabetes that I was bound and determined to just enjoy my food – all kinds of food – regardless of what it did to my weight and sugar levels.  After all, I wasn’t seeing any improvement, no matter what I was doing.

So, I started the program and saw my sugar levels drop to the 170′s, 150′s and I even had some 115′s and a 92 once.  However, they seem to want to stay around the 170′s, 150′s.  Which is acceptable, but not ideal.   Sometime in week four, I started questioning this.  I took a look at the nutrition labels again.  Up until this point, I’ve been worried about calories and protein.  Calories and protein.  Less than 200 calories and more than 15 grams of protein. Calories and protein.

Then, my eye roved over the area marked Carbohydrates and Sugar. Egads!  My Optifast, which I still had a fridge full of “buffer” and I had determined to finish them off, since I no longer needed a buffer, were 160 calories (yes, standard meal-replacement amount of calories), 15 grams of protein, and TWELVE grams of sugar.  I had nothing to compare to – so I looked at one of my Muscle Milks.  It has 3 grams of protein within its 160 calories. I gave all my remaining Optifast shakes to my boyfriend.

I started a mad, frenzied Google search – not for Daily Recommended but for Daily Allowable (Allowances).  Apparently, the Heart Association came up with a recommendation of no MORE than 40 grams of sugar within a 2000 calorie diet – or to put it in percentages, no more than 8% of your daily calorie intake should be from sugar.  If you calculate out 40 grams of sugar as 8% of 2000 calories, you will find 1 gram of sugar to be equal to 4 calories.   I looked at my Optifast container again.  12 g of sugar in 160 calories is: 30%.  Yes, I said THIRTY!  In comparison, my Muscle Milk turned out to be only 7.5% – much more acceptable.

When you are on a low-calorie diet – you must calculate your percentages, and not go by absolute amounts.  And even though it is an average of 8% throughout your day, it’s much easier for me to try to keep each meal under 8% than try to calculate on the fly: if I go over by 2% at breakfast, I must be under by 2% at dinner.. too difficult!

After I posted a rant on my Facebook page, my cousin recommended Premier Protein Shake – contains 160 calories, 30 grams of Protein and 1 gram of sugar.  I could cut my calories in half, still have my required amount of protein, and not the sugar!

I went home that day and cleaned out my fridge.  I had purchased so many frozen entrées to simplify my day – four times a day, I grabbed a ready-to-drink shake, and the fifth meal (lunch or dinner) I simply heated up an entrée.  Well, looking at my sugars, I ended up giving my boyfriend the bulk of my meals, leaving me with a measly three that I could have.

We went to Costco that night, so I could replenish my shake supply and get some frozen foods to use as my one meal a day.  I went into every freezer door, and turned over every package – I only found two things I could have! Amylu Kickin’ Cranberry Chicken meatballs and these frozen, single-serve shrimp wonton soups.  Everything else had WAY more sugar content per calories than I even want to imagine!  No wonder Americans are the fattest, most unhealthiest people in the world!

Now, my sugar levels have not really dropped any further (except for right after I exercise), but I’m hoping to see more of an improvement once I drop some more weight.  But my sugar outrage was more the idea that I was putting so much sugar into my system, when I am supposed to be minimizing sugar intake as a diabetic!

So, regardless of the reasons, I am now on a partial formula – replacing four out of the five meals a day with a shake or protein bar – and having one regular meal.  Due to the regular meal being allowed to be between 300 – 400 calories, my daily target calorie intake is increased from 800 calories to 1000-1100 calories.  This is still, by far, much lower than the Total Daily Calorie Needs – which I mentioned in a previous post.  It’s also below the recommended minimum that is touted by many weight-loss websites: including my own favorite: Calorie Count.

I am now offered an option: I can choose alternate branded products, and am no longer restricted to Optifast.  This is because I am not on the full-formula plan.  I only have two requirements when I go to shop for replacement shakes (powder or ready-to-drink) or protein bars:  they must contain less than or equal to 200 calories AND greater than or equal to 15 grams of protein.  Ok, you say, easy enough.  No, it’s not.

I go to the grocery store and Wal-Mart and later on to GNC.  You have to read those labels – those horrible nutrition labels – very carefully.  Diet products, weight-loss supplements, healthy snacks – they have one or the other, but not both together.  Protein bars that have enough protein, have way too many calories – diet shakes that have low enough calories, don’t have enough protein.  Gack!

I finally find these EAS shakes, and Muscle Milk.  I get home and find out that I can NOT stand the EAS shakes.  I give them to Andrew – he’s not on the program with me, but he will try the shakes as supplements to his own meals.  The Muscle Milk shakes taste fantastic – for a healthy shake.  Nothing at all like Slimfast – for those of you out there making faces.  Better tasting than Optifast.  And – CHEAPER!  By a bit more than half, in cost per shake (cost per meal).

What I’ve found over the counter at Wal-mart, Albertson’s and Smith’s are called Muscle Milk Light 100′s – these have 100 calories and 15 g of protein.  Perfect.  That’s 400 calories – leaving me with 400 calories max for my one meal.  That’s still only 800 calories – I should be dropping pounds like mad!!! Uh, yeah – we’ll come back to this.

Let’s talk about – exercise.  Eww.  Well, I transferred to a new team, with less strict chaining to my desk behaviours in July.   Since then, I’ve had at least three different sets of co-workers “forcing” me to go on short walks with them (15 minute breaks, around the building – nothing hard) – that forced me to put a little activity in my life.

When I started this program – they issued me a pedometer and requested that I increase my activity.  They suggested light walking – well, I can do that.  They told me I was already ahead of most people starting the program, as most haven’t even begun to walk or exercise.  I was still a slug, though.  For those of you who don’t know about pedometers, they measure activity level – not actual real-life steps.  But a target “healthy level of activity” is 10,000 (ten thousand) steps per day.  Uh yuh.  I started off my first week with a nice healthy average of about 2,000 per day, with one exceptionally memorable day of 182 (I have a really small apartment and it was a Sunday, and beyond getting out of bed and “crawling” to my computer in front of the TV – I did nothing!

A few weeks ago, I signed up for my company’s “Wellness Program” – wherein I am allowed one hour a day, three days a week, of paid work hours to go “exercise.” I chose walking around the building, and/or using our fitness room, during my first hour of the day, Mon, Tues, and Thursdays.  I am also walking my full hour at lunchtimes – every day, that I don’t wiggle out of it.  (Hey, when you are just drinking a shake – you can do that any time at the desk.)

So, in the last few weeks, I’ve actually had days of over 10,000 steps (I had one day of over 13,000!) and I’m feeling much more energetic.  But – here’s a bonus!  Every calorie I expend in exercise counts against my daily totals!  Don’t forget my beautiful formulas in my previous post: Calorie Counting – Re-examined.  In addition to all the crazy walking I’m doing, at home, I’ve dusted off my step aerobics dvd and step, and am having fun cussing out the lady on the screen (hey, it counts as “carrying on a light conversation” – the measure by which most aerobic instructors gauge your comfort level).  I’ve also attempted – attempted, not mastered, my tae-bo video.  (I still have a ton of tapes/dvds in shrink-wrap on the shelf – give me a break – I just started!)

Well, I’ve told you my plan – the program I’m following.  What I haven’t really discussed is how well I’ve stayed on it.  Pretty well, actually, but I have had moments of “deviating.”  Now, I am not justifying my cheating moments, but I will say that on days that I just couldn’t adhere to my diet – usually on occasions when we do go out with friends and I cannot or am not willing to follow the guidelines of my rounded meal, or my calorie restrictions, I do go over my 1000 calorie target, but I stay under my slightly over 2000 calorie Total Daily Calorie Needs.

That being said, I lost nothing in week 2 (even gained 0.3 pounds) – lost a bit over 1 pound after week 3, and finally, week 4 lost exactly what I had calculated I would lose (3500 calories per pound) – 2.5 pounds.  I am now in week 7, and have pulled over the 20 pound benchmark – with a bit under 80 pounds more to go.  So, what more is there to say?  Oh, yes, I have more – my next post will be about what I call: Mei’s Sugar Outrage!

That being said, I am going to plunge on and talk about what it is that I am doing.

In week one, I was placed on the Full Formula Plan – which is their way of saying that I was going to eat nothing but Optifast products.  I have to eat 5 meals a day, no more than three hours apart.  For the first week, I was to eat nothing but milkshakes, soups, hot chocolate or oatmeal (essentially liquid).  I was to have no more than one soup (my choice – tomato or chicken broth), no more than one hot chocolate or oatmeal, and the other three meals were to be shakes – ready to drink, or powder in a packet.

I was provided guidelines in case I absolutely had to eat real food – 3 ounces of protein (a playing deck size piece of meat), a side salad, a serving of vegetables (1 cup cooked or raw), and a small serving of carbs.   This was only IF I could not get out of eating something – my nutritionist’s example: If a boss invited you out to eat, and you couldn’t say no.

Each of the shakes and soups were 160 calories, the hot chocolate was 70 and the oatmeal 100.  My target was supposed to be no more than 800 calories a day.  The program at SWENDO would not allow you to stay on this particular plan for any MORE than ten weeks.

The first week, I discovered that I really did not like the soups at all – they did not dissolve well, and were hard to get down.  I also did not like to make the powder into a shake – even in the little shake tumbler they provided me.  I started to add the powdered shake packets to coffee as a creamer substitute and drink one ready-made shake for breakfast.  I only drank the soup if there was no other choice.

And I cheated – I could not make it the whole week without going out to dinner.  I began my diet on a Tuesday (Monday was my consultation – but I couldn’t technically start until the next morning).  Thursday, I asked my boyfriend to take me out – we had been eating out almost every meal, before I started this diet – and I really missed the dining out thing.

So we went to Sweet Tomatoes.  I thought I was doing so well, I got a nice little salad, with a bit of ranch dressing – and did NOT go get pasta, dessert, soup, whatever.

The next evening, we went to Furr’s, and I got a salad, and some broccoli spears, and a small piece of chicken.  The next two nights, I had bought a bag of salad greens, and using some meat from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and some very particular shopping that netted me a fat-free salad dressing that only gave me 30 calories per 2 TBSP, I had two very nice chicken salad dinners.  So, technically, on my first week, four out of seven days I didn’t stick to my five meal-replacements.  However, I lost 8.3 pounds.

When I returned for my one-week follow-up, we discussed my “deviations” and decided that I should go to a 4-meal replacement, with 1 real food meal per day plan – what is called a Partial Formula Plan.

My next post will discuss how this new plan worked out for me – and I’ll also describe the exercise component of this plan.

What I’ve never had the pleasure of before was a more comprehensive explanation of my goals and complete record-keeping.  Before you start looking at the calories you are eating and what you’re aiming for – you need to calculate what it will take for you to maintain your current weight.   At SWENDO, I got on a metabolism reading machine to do that, but there are websites all over that will help you do it too.

Before you read onwards – I need to warn you that the rest of this post includes a heavy dose of math – and some accounting.  I LOVE math, and accounting, and formulas and logic – so maybe that’s why I am sticking to this diet so well, right now.  Hope you like it too, or that I can explain it in a way that you can accept.

Here’s a good way to find out how many calories will keep you going – your Total Daily Calorie Needs:

First you need your BMR – your Basal Metabolic Rate:

English BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

Now whatever your number is (mine is 1748.3) is the number of calories needed to keep you at your same weight if you did nothing but lie around in bed.

You need to find out what your level of daily activity adds to your daily caloric needs.  Using the Harris Benedict Formula:

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

I’m fairly sedentary – so I used factor #1: 1748.3 x 1.2 = 2098 (rounded).  I have been upping my exercise, but I think before I catalogue myself as a lightly active person, which would increase on paper what my daily caloric needs are – I’m going to err on the safe side.

Great – so now I have my numbers – now what??  Yep, now comes the lovely part of counting calories.  I have a free account on Calorie Count’s website: www.caloriecount.about.com – this website allows you to put in your starting info – specify a goal – and track your progress daily or in any period of time you want.

My SWENDO program also provided what looks like a checkbook register log.  It is really helpful – all you have to do is document how many calories you eat and any EXTRA exercise you do.  REMEMBER: Always overestimate your food calories and underestimate your exercise.

At the end of the week, you total day by day what your deficit (we hope there’s a deficit) of calories becomes.  For example, if I only ate 1150 calories, and exercised for a total of 300 calories, I would add the 300 to my 2098 that I need to keep my weight the same: 2398.  Then I would subtract the food I ate: 2398 – 1150.  This gives me a deficit of 1248 calories I’m missing to keep me the same weight.  Let’s pretend that I’ve been awfully good and kept this up for seven days.  Over seven days the exact same calculation would result in a total of 8736 calories.

Here’s another piece of trivia.  It takes 3500 calories to lose 1 pound.  So, if I have been very good and have not deprived myself of water or other nutrients in this whole endeavor, I should have lost 8736 divided by 3500 to get 2.496 or 2.5 pounds.  Only the scale will tell – and it might fluctuate.  It should average out over the longer period – don’t get discouraged.  Each week, you should recalculate your Total Daily Calorie Needs, because your weight changed.

This is what I learned at the end of week 1 – at this point I could have happily left the program – except that I had pre-paid and I might as well get my money’s worth in the included classes and follow-up consultations and doctor’s visits.

In my next post – I’ll address WHAT I can eat – now that we’ve covered how MUCH I can eat.

In 2004, I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Between being on the road, homeless for a while, self-employed, then unemployed, then sketchily employed with Bank of the West, and finally gainfully employed with the Forest Service, I’ve been off and on health insurance throughout the years – and subsequently, my diabetes has been sometimes well, and sometimes ill, controlled. I’ve been on Metformin (glucophage) off and on, though I am not a good pill-taker. Recently, my blood sugar readings have been running up in the 300-400 range. (Controlled diabetics should be under 180 or 170 – between 120-140, ideally. Non-diabetics tend to run between 80-120.)

The last two years, with the excellent health insurance that I have from my federal job, I’ve been seeing a primary doctor – who has added on to my pill regimen. I’ve added glyburide, lisinopril, and Januvia. Dr. Sanchez, my primary, has finally given up on seeing me control my diabetes, and referred me to an endocrinologist.

When I visited Dr. Ferraro, at Southwest Endocrinology, for the first time, I let him know that I really did not want to go on insulin. I told him that I was not diagnosed with diabetes until I was over 200 pounds. I was always afraid I would develop diabetes, because both my parents had type two later in their lives. My father died from his diabetes. One of the reasons that Dr. Sanchez referred me to Dr. Ferraro was because he also runs a weight management program. This is really what I wanted to investigate.

I enrolled in the program on November 9. I started off on what they called a full-meal-replacement or a full program. I was supposed to have 5 meals each day, consisting of a shake or soup by Optifast. At the beginning of this program, I had one-on-one consultations with a nutritionist/counselor. She examined my daily log after one week, and seeing that I had deviated from my prescribed program no less than three times, but within the accepted exceptions allowed – I had substituted a couple of chicken salads for a shake, several times that first week – switched me over to a one meal per day, and four meal replacements. Week 1, I lost 8 pounds. More importantly, my blood sugar levels came down on day 2 and have remained well-managed (well under 180) since I began. I had an appointment on November 17 to see Dr. Ferraro. He was pleased with my plunge in my blood sugar levels, as am I.  He modified my medication again – and now I am on nothing more than Metformin.

Week 2, I lost nothing. I even gained 0.3 pounds, by their scale. I did deviate a bit, but took in well less than my 2300 calories it would take to maintain my weight. So, why didn’t I lose any weight? The counselor/educator did say that most people will lose a little and gain a little over time, and one hopes that the general trend will be downwards. So, trying very hard not to be discouraged, I plow onwards. The good news, is that my blood sugar levels stayed low.

Week 3, this past week, was Thanksgiving week. I had a brilliant plan to stay on track – I was going to go to the buffet. Yes, this is counter-intuitive, and only works, if you have the willpower. I do. My boyfriend and I went to Furr’s, where he was able to partake of whatever he wanted. I had a lovely little plate of a slice of turkey, a smallish scoop of dressing, and some broccoli. I had another plate of a small side salad. Both deliberately placed on salad plates, instead of the dinner plates. For dessert, I splurged with a small dish of blue Jell-O. Sounds like I did really well, yes? No! I then came home, and this sad, non-eventful four day weekend was just filled with empty hours in which I was bored, and depressed (an entirely other story). So, I ate. I ate outside my prescribed okayness for food. I had my shakes, and I had other stuff. I don’t know yet, what the verdict will be on the weight loss – my bathroom scale says I’ve lost another 3 or 4 pounds, but I won’t know “officially” until I weigh in at the clinic. My blood sugar levels are still in the happy range.

Tomorrow, I begin week 4. The program runs for three months – so I am due to end the program on February 9^th. I have a total of 13 weeks – so as of this post, I have seven weeks remaining to me, to make a difference. On the fitness side of things, I have continued to pursue my daily break walks around my office building. I have also started (re-started, really) my step aerobics program at home this past week – this is a new activity.  Each time I’ve worked out, I’ve done more.

I have started the wellness program at work.  I am authorized three days a week, one hour that day to go do something fit – my allotted time (by my request) is 7-8 in the morning (Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays).  I tried to walk the treadmill in the fitness room in my building, but that just isn’t for me.  I really enjoy walking on the bike path out behind my building – and recently I started adding aerobics moves – including lots of arm flapping and extra leg-work.  I look like a fool out there – but only two or three bicyclists see me, so who cares?

So my journey to a healthier, prettier me continues.