When you combine exercise with dieting in order to lose weight things become more complex than just cutting back on food. It is like a space mission you are setting out on and you need to make sure your body has the supplies to keep going for the duration. Rather than simply eating as little as possible, sometimes this means taking on board fuel that you might not necessarily expect you'd need. An app can help with this element of weight loss, but there's a trust relationship to negotiate first.
More Under than Over
I've been faithfully recording food and exercise using MyFitnessPal for twelve days now, and the recommended calorie allowances are fairly generous once you factor in the exercise. I've only exceeded the allowances twice (both on Saturday nights) and only once exceeding the allowance by more than 100 calories. Whereas I've frequently found myself under allowance by anything up to 1300 calories.It sounds almost worrying that I was 1300 calories under the 1660 calorie goal, but I did burn an estimated 989 calories that day. And I'm not yet confident enough in the app to eat more than necessary. After all there is still a sense of estimation even with the app, especially if you simply type in homemade ______ for your meal.
To be fair there are lots of recipes you'll find online in the database alongside the calorie amounts for pre-made food. But sometimes you just find something that looks about right when you've not the patience for adding ingredients and weights to the app. This is why I write there's a sense of estimation. In addition, I don't know whether the exercise I undertake is as vigorous as the database expects and so again I don't rely entirely on my calorie deficits being correct.
Exercise Routine
I've added 5 or 10 mins of stepping aerobics using the bottom two steps of my staircase. This is a break during the day, gets the blood flowing and works my calves. It also brings my daily regular cardiovascular exercise (excluding walking) to 1 hr.There were two runs last week. The first was 4 km and the second was 4.6 km (accurately measured thanks to MapMyRun, I could even give you the elevation but will resist). Both were completed without any breaks or walking, and this is thanks to the stamina I've built with aerobic exercise. My next aim is to extend to 5km, and to do the running more frequently and at a faster pace.
Currently I'm struggling to get the running above once or twice a week, but now I can keep going and know the time it's going to take it's easier to block that time out. It'll be even easier once the evenings become lighter (although then I'll be in a biking/running dilemma).
Anyway it was good to see MapMyRun feed the run details back to Google Fit and MyFitnessPal, and also simply to see the average speed I'd achieved and calories burned.
Food and Drink
I've stayed off the tea and coffee since the end of December, and now only occasionally drink beer or wine at home in the evening. Socially I'll drink white tea (sorry friends, I've become one of them and will carry tea wherever I go. Maybe!) and beer on a night out. As regards food, there's been very little to change. A vegetarian diet, which is what I was mainly on anyway, only really requires that you don't eat out of boredom or habit. It doesn't even preclude having the odd cake as long as you stay aware of the size and number, which is where MyFitnessPal comes in.
Thoughts of the Week
MyFitnessPal has a blog integrated into its apps and also a discussion forum. The widespread opinion is that to achieve any sort of tone you need to add weights into your regime. I'm thinking about starting light with some dumbbells (although I have no idea what size to buy since I don't go to the gym; note to self: test out some bags of sugar in the supermarket).
There are exercise tutorials that promise tone without weights but many of the exercises I'm seeing in these look very awkward and don't feel particularly comfortable. So I'm integrating exercises that I'm confident with and leaving the rest out. I'm also considering picking up an exercise step on eBay to avoid wearing out the carpet on our stairs at home. Although it needs replacing anyway, because it's a hideous colour that I didn't choose, so no loss if it needs replacing or stripping back to floorboards (are they called floorboards when on the stairs? probably risers and treads is the correct terminology).
There are exercise tutorials that promise tone without weights but many of the exercises I'm seeing in these look very awkward and don't feel particularly comfortable. So I'm integrating exercises that I'm confident with and leaving the rest out. I'm also considering picking up an exercise step on eBay to avoid wearing out the carpet on our stairs at home. Although it needs replacing anyway, because it's a hideous colour that I didn't choose, so no loss if it needs replacing or stripping back to floorboards (are they called floorboards when on the stairs? probably risers and treads is the correct terminology).
Tip of the Week
If you're unsure whether to eat something then enter it before you do. A packet of Quavers, for example, contains 88 calories but a teacake can contain 212. Knowing this ahead of time you can choose your lunchtime treat accordingly. And if you're going out for a meal or out for some drinks, then plug in an estimate of what you will eat and drink beforehand.
A meal out can be around 1300 calories and a night out on the beer can be over a 1000 calories, put those together and that's your daily allowance. But if you know you're going out on a big one in advance you can take some exercise during the day and go lightly the day before and the day after rather than simply taking the calorie hit.
A meal out can be around 1300 calories and a night out on the beer can be over a 1000 calories, put those together and that's your daily allowance. But if you know you're going out on a big one in advance you can take some exercise during the day and go lightly the day before and the day after rather than simply taking the calorie hit.
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