So I’ve been overweight for a long time. I downloaded an app for the iPhone called “Lose It!” which made me enter my weight. So I went on the scales for the first time in a long time. It read 231lbs! That is crazy! I’ve never weighed this much.
This website, CaloriesPerHour.com, is useful. I entered in my dimensions and it spat back out, “Your Obese!” Wake up call! The only thing worse than “Obese” on their scale is “Morbidly Obese!”
The Livestrong App on iTunes may even be better than Lose It! but Lose It! seems to work fine for me now. It’s free. The Livestrong app is $2.99 I believe. I learned of Lose It! on Mashable.com so I trusted it was pretty good even for free.
Anyway, Lose It!, helps you keep track of calories. So now I’m going to count! My goal is 175lbs which is about the right weight for my height (5′ 11″).
Even though it’s embarrassing, I thought blogging it would help keep me on track.
Yesterday I had no breakfast because I didn’t wake up early. Lunch was HALF of a REUBEN sandwich which was something freshly made and packaged from Kroger’s, so I’d say it’s a little bit less fattening than ones you might buy at a fast food place or Oaklawn. Anyway a website said a typical Reuben, cheese and all is about 462 calories.
So for my first meal I had 231+95 (Half a Reuben and a whole Apple) = 326. I drank a Sugar Free Verve which is only 4 calories! I love that, because it feels like drinking a soda which are usually 100 calories or more. So make it 330.
A few hours later I had a Stouffer’s Fish Filet dinner with Mac and Cheese. The box says 400 calories. Normally I would eat two of those. I ate one.
So my grand total yesterday was 730 calories. (I had water with dinner) My budget of calories in the app was 1839. It says that’ll lose two pounds per week if I budget 1839 or less per day. So I was under by a 1000 or more calories!
Going to bed I had hunger pangs. Definitely before the app I would have gone out and gotten something, but I drank two glasses of water. I think I drank half a verve too. The carbonation helps. Also I think I had a Vemma.
This morning, before eating, the scale said 229.5. Now, granted, when I weighed the first time, it was after I had eaten something. So let’s take a pound off of that, and make my starting point 230. (Assuming I would have weighed in at 230 that morning.)
Well, ok. Maybe I lost half a pound. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Today I’ve had so far (it’s about 7pm as I write) 1026 calories. I did take a mile and half walk today with my dogs even though my knee was hurting. Finally there was Sun and warmth (about 67F)! The app says that exercise burned about 126 calories. I can live with that. I was sweating by the end of it.
So my net for the day so far is 900. I can eat 936 more calories today and still be under my budget!
Allright. I may have something later. I’m not trying to get crazy or anything.
One thing I have noticed, and I’ve read this before is that when I have a protein with a carb, even if its a smaller portion, I feel satisfied. (The reuben had the meat, bread, and apple. The Stouffer’s meals always have a meat some kind of carb.)
So other than Counting & Keeping track, which according to Lance Armstrong, does work, my one little take away would be to make sure you have a protein and carb with your meal, even if it’s a smaller portion.
I’ll continue to weigh every day just because I like it, but I’m not worried about day to day results as much as weekly ones.
Oh another piece of advice: If you have those hunger pangs at night, it’s almost like the training that goes with quieting the mind in meditation. In meditation you gently nudge the mind back to quietness. With this, at least in my case, I have some water or a carbonated drink to quell them just a little. I’ve done this the last two nights actually, and it feels like they reduce in intensity over time. I think to myself while I’m laying in bed that I’ve got enough stored up energy for my body to sleep and dream peacefully. If my body needs more energy, at least at this point, there are plenty of reserves down there! That helps ease the mind a little that you don’t need anything late at night.
Although don’t think that a fantasy of an omelette plate from Waffle house hasn’t crossed my mind! Still, I be still, do some reading, and fall asleep.
We’ll see what tomorrow brings!
I think the tricky part is knowing just how many calories everything you eat has. Say you go to a restaurant, have one of there nice meals. Fine. You want desert, fine, but just how many calories did that meal have? Especially if you are on the go, this is a challenge. The web helps. It told me about the Reuben. But sometimes you’ll just have to make a rough guess if you are at a restaurant or something.
Obviously there is more to it than just calories. Fat is the most important thing. But, hey, I’m a numbers guy. An app like this that is on the phone, at least helps me get the ball rolling and focused in the right direction.
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