Challenges and Calculators

Today was the final weigh-in for the 5 week weight loss challenge.  I cringed seeing only a 2 lb loss, weighing in at 140.8.  I laughed a little as I stared down at the scale, reaching for the camera on the counter to take a picture for the weigh-in submission.  I reflected, thinking that at the beginning of the challenge I was excited that for the first time in over 10 years I was so close to my weight loss goal.  So close that if I did 2 lbs a week I would meet that goal.

I was sad that I never once dipped below 140. I did hit it once a week ago.  What kept me from being completely shaken though was the fact I had started taking measurements and paying attention to my body fat %.  From the beginning of the challenge to today I lost 2.2% of my body fat!  Also in that time I lost an inch off my hips, 1 1/4 inches off my waist and 1/4 inch from around my neck.  Sure does look different in a mirror.  I even went and bought the next size down in jeans and they are already needing a belt to stay up.

I struggle less and less with overeating and now find I have trouble eating enough which may have been my biggest challenge this go around.  Not eating enough can stall weight loss as your body struggles to have enough calories to survive, and rather than lose weight, it again starts storing fat so it can use them, maintaining your current weight. A friend pointed me towards a nice calculator that I feel gave me a better idea of my calorie intake than using the My Fitness Pal calorie calculation.

http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

At my age, height and current weight and activity level the calculator set on the Lean Mass Formula (I know my body fat %) my BMR which is the number of calories burned at rest...so essentially the number of calories needed to live.  This came in at 1367.  This would be the number of calories I need to just function. The number of calories needed to maintain my current weight is known as TDEE.  This the number of calories that are needed to function PLUS the number of calories the body burns daily just doing normal tasks like sleeping, working, exercising, playing and digesting food to name a few.  My TDEE at an exercise level of exercising 3 times a week moderately came in at 1879 calories.  As I stated already, this is the minimum number of calories I should consume if I wanted to maintain my current weight.  It is a nice weight, but I would like to lose a few more, or at least if I gain or maintain my muscle weight changes.

Step 2 of the calculator has you chose your goal. This is were I find the flaw in MFP calorie consumtion verses this calculator.  MFP has me at 1200 calories a day and if I exercise any it wants me to consume those calories back or it says I am way under my caloric goal.  The calculator though says at 25% fat loss (notice I did not say weight loss) I need to consume 1409 calories.

http://iifym.com/do-i-add-back-calories-i-burn-during-exercise/

The above article from the producers of the calculator explains why, if using the calculator correctly and maintaining the inputted exercise, that you do not add back in your calories expended during exercising.  If you add them back you are eating too many calories for your weight loss goals as the calculated caloric intake as already taken the exercise into consideration.

One thing I have to consider though is that the calculator does not say what kind of exercise..low, medium, high impact that is being used in this calculation, though it seems to amount to somewhere around 1000 calories worth, in my case, 3 times a week.  If you are exercising daily for instance, 1760 calories would need to be consumed to lose the same amount of weight vs exercising 3 times a week.

This next 4-5 weeks I am going to test this calculators outputs and I am adjusting my calories to match this calculator as well as try to meet their recommended protein, fat and carb intake.  This is a hefty goal as I said I am having trouble even eating 1200 calories some days. 

Oh how time flies...

It's been nearly two years since I touched this blog.  The first thing I did was to go back to the beginning and read the words I had typed.  There was or should I say is a common theme that still hold true, I have impulse control issues when it comes to food, I love food and I crave sugar.  What is different though is that I am not letting that control me.

In going back through the years I noticed how my weight fluctuated.   I started the blog on 6/26/2008 logging a starting weight of 155.2.  I noted that this was not my lowest weight and that I had been yo-yoing for 18 weeks prior.  For all of 2008, my most prolific blogging time I had a low of 151.2 in August  and a high of 160.8 in November.

2009 was much of the same at higher weights with my 2009 high being 164.6 in January and 150.8 in March which is when I stopped blogging for the year.

I logged one weight in 2010 and that was in January coming in at 157.8.

October 2011 showed my lowest weight to that date of 149.8.  Things should have been looking up from there as I remember being so proud of myself.  November 2011 we had a house fire and my life turned upside down for awhile as I moved in with my father for 4 months, bought a  house, rebuilt a house and gained over 20 pounds by August of 2012 clocking in at my highest all time weight of 170.  That was a turning point for me.

I spent the next year watching what I ate.  I got a new job in January 2013, found a new friend, and started walking every day at lunch.  By August of 2013 I was back down to 153.  I focused on my job and didn't return to using blogging or other tools to document my weight loss.  I with I had.

April 2014 I lost my job.  This could have been another setback for me, but I used it to propel me to focus on me.  I scheduled doctor and dentist appointments before my insurance expired to make sure my family and I were in good health and I continued to watch what I ate.

I joined a group of friends for a weight loss competition.  I logged 149 pounds on 5/11/2014. I have still yo-yo'd but I am proud to say I am at 141.2 pounds and 29.3% Body fat.

I have started tracking my body fat percentage as I found that even when I gained weight, that my % told me if I was gaining fat, muscle or water.  I have about 56% muscle mass, 5% bone mass, which means I retain quite a bit of water, but that means I am well hydrated.

I am trying to work on toning exercises now that I really understand my food habits and how to control them.  I have never deprived myself.  I have never really dieted, though I have tried a few "diets" that last maybe a few days.

I believe my key to weight loss has been to open up about my weight loss to friends, family and my husband.  He has grown to be my greatest supporter along with my father who has had  his own rewarding weight loss journey.

In addition to toning exercises I have been running.  I signed up for two 5k's this year with a third being decided on.  I am well on to meeting my ultimate weight loss goal, but mostly I  have given myself the tools to keep it off.