Day 4-ish (Erin)

Hey! I'm still here...just a little distracted. Here's a video to catch up my four days of transparent eating series. I hope everyone is doing well!

In the video, I discuss how you should figure the number of calories needed to a) lose a pound a week and b) maintain your current weight. I use this method, it's up for your consideration. The thing that is most beneficial is knowing a range you can stay in to avoid gaining weight. Sometimes life happens. And you know you're going to be a little over. It's good to be sure you're not going to ruin all your progress on those days by gaining weight, so this is how I do that.

I have included a general chart below, but I'm going to give you a site that can lead you through a more personalized version of this and give more exact numbers. I'm a precise kind of girl. BUT the chart is probably a decent and simplified version.

EXACT NUMBER METHOD:
Find your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR, calories needed per day to maintain your current weight) then you can substract 500 calories to lose a pound a week or stay at or below your BMR to avoid gaining.
Find the calculation for BMR here: http://www.runnersworld.com/tools/daily-calories-calculator

Merry Christmas!
Erin

According to webmd:

To maintain weight, see the calorie chart below. This chart represents calorie guidelines to maintain weight based on median height and weight -- a BMI (body-mass index) of 21.5 for females and 22.5 for males – as well as activity level. 

To lose weight -- about 1 pound a week -- reduce total calories in the chart by 500 a day by eating less and become more physically active.

To gain weight, add 500 calories per day for each pound you want to gain per week. 

For successful weight loss that you can maintain over time, experts recommend choosing foods that are lower in calories but rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients.

Gender	Age	Sedentary*	Moderately Active*	Active*
Females	19-30 31-50 51+	1800-2000 1800 1600	2000-2200 2000 1800	2400 2200 2000-2200
Males	19-30 31-50 51+	2400-2600 2200-2400 2000-2200	2600-2800 2400-2600 2200-2400	3000 2800-3000 2400-2800

*Sedentary means a lifestyle that includes light physical activity associated with typical activities of daily living.  Moderately active consists of walking 1.5 to 3 miles daily at a pace of 3 to 4 miles per hour (or the equivalent). An active person walks more than 3 miles daily at the same pace, or equivalent exercise.

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Thank you, Lord, for Your precious Son, who in His innocence offered a sacrifice that cleared the path to You for every person in this world who will walk it. The beauty of Your love is overwhelming. You are hope and light where there is none. In You, broken people are made whole. Even me.

This song is too gorgeous for me not to post the lyrics. 

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Coming Clean Day 3 (Erin)

Oh. My. Word.

Last night, after the gym, I went by the grocery store to pick up a few things. That's not a good idea. After I workout, I'm hungry and possibly disoriented. :) Seeing food and making decisions...well, that's probably not the thing for me to engage in right after visiting the gym.

So...I bought a TON of frozen food. Then I went to bed late. Then I got up and had to break out into a run to get to work -- soI grabbed frozen food to make life easier. Today is not going to be a clean eating day...at all.

BUT I have officially shed all the weight I gained recently. I'll take it. We're coming up on Christmas, which is going to be another gain, so I'll do all I can until then. Then I'll do all I can afterward, which I've been thinking about a lot. What can you plan to do after Christmas that will make getting back on track easier?

Here are my thoughts on a post-Christmas game plan:
**Keep NO leftovers at home.
**Set the regular routine back in place ASAP (healthy food, gym, all of it).
**Journal. Yes, I said journal. I know we're not in fifth grade, but taking 5-10 minutes to write down your reasons for taking care of yourself and the benefits you've seen so far is motivating.
**Sleep. Maybe it's just me, but if I can find a day to get in bed early and have the luxury of not needing to set an alarm, I wake up feeling like a new person. It resets my body and mind without fail. So hit the reset button and see if being rested helps with everything else.

Now, let's begin today's food journal:

BREAKFAST
cherry diet coke
Jimmy Dean bacon breakfast bowl (It's an addiction. Though it is not the cleanested food, it does have 28g protein so it will hold me over to lunch without an issue. It's 410 calories, which is under my 500 calories/meal general goal.)

LUNCH
It's about to get random...
leftover lima beans
a chicken quesadilla

DINNER

SNACKS

WATER -
EXERCISE -

Coming Clean Day 2 (Erin)

This morning has already presented a challenge. After making my breakfast smoothie, I packed a bag full of food for the day. Then I drove to work. As I parked, I looked over in my passenger's seat, where my purse and lunch sit. The purse was there, but...where was the food?! Yeah, I left my food at home. It's spoiling as I type.

*sigh*

Subway, I'll see you at noon.

I finished yesterday's post this morning, now it's time to start today's. I'll come back later to fill in the gaps.


BREAKFAST
This morning's smoothie was good. I like to work in fruit and veggies so I start off on top of some of my nutritional goals.

1-1.5 cups spinach (You won't taste it.)
3/4 c. pineapple
5 oz. honey Greek yogurt
11 oz. coconut water with pineapple juice
1 T coconut butter
a handfull of ice

TOTAL: 366 calories, 16g protein, a ton of potassium, 100% daily Vitamin C needs, and 83% daily Vitamin A needs IN ONE CUP. Try it sometime, if you're so inclined.

LUNCH
Subway! So glad we have one nearby. By the time I got away for lunch, I had developed an appetite. This meal is sticking to my ribs well. I'm working out today, so I had a few extra calories to spare on lunch. Loved spending them. :)

6" steak and cheese loaded with spinach and olives
Doritos (Yeah, the real ones. Not the baked ones. Hadn't had them in forever so it was a nice treat!)
Diet Coke (Not clean eating here, but sometimes a girl needs her fizzy drink!)

DINNER
I have a ton of leftovers -- which is the beauty of cooking for one. It's going to be a repeat of yesterday's dinner. Not complaining, because I am a fan of this mix.

chicken
baked sweet potato fries
lima beans
mushrooms

SNACKS
post workout protein shake

WATER - 8 cups
EXERCISE - short run/elliptical/40 minutes weight training

Coming Clean Day 1 (Erin)

Let me share something warm and fuzzy with you. Last night, Tony gave me a bit of encouragement that I really needed. He came over to catch up for a while. As we were talking, he grabbed my laptop and pulled up a couple of pictures on Facebook. Here they are:


He said, “You’ve come a long way. I saw this the other day, and I knew I had to show you. You don’t even look like the same person anymore, Erin. Just keep doing your thing. I’m really proud of you.”

It’s amazing what a best friend can do for your morale. He knew exactly what I needed to hear...and see. You forget how much progress you've made looking forward on all you want to accomplish. Please take a minute to consider that today.

Ok, warm and fuzzy time over. Now, let's move on to the panic button portion of this blog. For the next four days I’m going transparent on what I eat. Why, you ask? Because I’ve gained FOUR POUNDS with all the festivities and my family feast begins Sunday. Time to buckle down. 
One of my coworkers brought leftover cupcakes for everyone today. As I was looking at the nutrition info (they were store bought), considering the potential damages, one of the men came over and said, “Erin, you’re not getting sucked in, are you?”

No, I’m not getting sucked in. One mini cupcake was nearly 100 calories. Those cupcakes let me know I need accountability. (Too many splurges lately to splurge on that!) So here it comes.

Let me begin my food post for the day. I’ll come back and finish it after dinner. My goal is to eat cleaner this week (not clean). So I’m shooting for less prepackaged food than usual. There will still be prepackaged food, I suffer no delusions there, but I'd like to move to more whole foods and homemade meals. Read: I'd like to be less lazy about what I consume. : ) Here we go...

BREAKFAST

This morning I made a smoothie – quick, easy, clean. I added 1 banana, 5 oz. honey Greek yogurt, ½ cup of quick oats, a handful of ice, and 11 oz coconut water. It packs over 20g protein and 30g carbs, a good amount of potassium, need I go on? It’s great for you. And mixing Greek yogurt with oatmeal and other flavors really helps me – not a fan of the stuff by itself.

LUNCH

Chili and pita chips (430 calories - Not bad, eh?)

DINNER

I had chicken and veggies. The chicken went fast. I LOVE lima beans -- maybe it's my country roots. Everyone does them differently, I cook them with a little onion and a slice of ham. These were really good. Add mushrooms and baked sweet potato fries -- I'm happy.

SNACKS
edamame
protein shake (post workout)
my sweet little secret weapon: instant espresso -- zero calories and all the caffeine you could wish for

Cups of water: 10
Work out: 45 minutes strength training after a run

Surviving December (Erin)

Here comes video number two! It's after midnight, so I actually am a little loopy. You've been warned. (Example: Dr Pepper is NOT $150 a can. It’s 150 calories a can. Wow. Sorry.  I am TIRED. It's starting to show. ha!)

Here are some of the key points if you're reading and running:

These tips were taken from the NPR program The People’s Pharmacy, which recently hosted Chef MD aka Dr. John La Puma. 

Motivation is not enough to lose weight – 3 tips for sustainable weight loss:

1) Make the healthy choices the easy choice

2) Don’t drink your calories.

3) Right size your dinnerware by using 6" plates and tall, narrow glasses

People with 6+ years weight loss success had four things in common: 

1) They individualize their plan

2) They exercise, on average, 300 minutes a week

3) They self monitor, using either a belt or scale

4) They are held accountable, and not by someone they're close to

Video Update! (Erin)

Here's to trying something new!