Motivated Monday

Is it already Monday again? I guess so! I feel quite motivated today, so I need to set some goals for this week to channel that motivation into something productive. Okay, so my goals are to work out for 1 hour for 6 days this week. I want to run at least 2 days of that and do P90X workouts, and incorporate weight training 3 days as well. I need to do some housework also, so I will add that on top of the workout goals for the week. As far as eating, my goal is to keep a journal this week to track what I am eating and to better keep up with my calorie intake. I will continue to stay in the 1200-1500 calorie range.

I still haven't lost any more weight, but I'm hoping that by holding my calorie intake steady and upping my workouts, that will change. I so badly want to change my body and feel better about it. I feel like I am starting to see a change in my body, even though I haven't had any more weight loss. Wanting that change and seeing a small amount of change (even if it may be imaginary) in myself has provided that motivation that I feel today. I am hoping that it lasts throughout the rest of the week, but I may need some encouragement to keep it up! It's a good thing I have great friends to support me! :-) Keeping a journal will also help me figure out where and when I am messing up so that I can correct it and move on towards losing weight.

I really would like to lose 5-6 pounds in the next 2 weeks. I know that that is not a healthy loss though. Doctors recommend that 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy range, so I will do my best to lose at least that. I have learned through much research and conversations with professionals that in order to achieve this 1-2 pound weight loss, there needs to be a 600 calorie deficit every day. I need to burn 600 more calories than I take in. To get this, I first have to know my resting metabolic rate to figure out how many calories my body burns without doing any activity (thus "resting" metabolic rate). Most any RMR calculator brought up with a Google search will work, you really need just a ballpark to get that base number. I never remember my exact number, but I know that it is roughly 1400 calories. Then I add in the calories that I take in on a particular day to see how many calories I need to burn to get my deficit of 600. That 600 can come from any activity including working out. That may seem like a daunting number, but keep in mind that anything you do during the day is going to burn calories. Even typing this post I am burning calories. Everything from walking to the car to cleaning the house to eating my lunch is burning calories. The website I posted a week or two ago is a good resource for calculating how many calories you burn doing different activities (here it is again in case you don't want to search for it!). For example: My RMR is 1400; I eat 1500 calories; I do daily activities of driving for 30 minutes (59 calories), typing for 30 minutes (44 calories), light office work for 5 hours (222 calories), and an elliptical workout for 30 minutes (400 calories). My calorie deficit will be 625 (1500-1400-59-44-222-400=-625). If I want to eat more calories, then I have to adjust my activities to match that. I hope that isn't too confusing, but if it is then let me know and I will get into more detail, or I can help you customize it for yourself.

Have a happy Monday! Stay fit!