[Chubs192]

So looking at the forum it seems for my weight and height I should be eating 1600 calories a day. Today I have counted up 1569 adding extra on for salad though I estimated that. Is that bad? I didn't have time to weigh it and look it all up on this website I found Calorieking.com. Its american and since Im from the UK some foods can be complicated to narrow down but its very useful.

Tomorrow I introduce REAL exercise. Got one or two DVDs I plan on using. Also I need to drink more water!

How is everyone else doing today?

K

[audrina]

I have recently started to count calories too. I use FitDay and I like it as it provides you with a ton of information as well. It does a really good job at keeping me on track and showing me what I actually consume a day. When I estimate it I tend to under estimate things that are higher in calories and over estimate things that are naturally lower.

Good luck with the exercise! For me it was the first few days that were the hardest, I was so out of shape it was humiliating to even try exercise DVDs in the privacy of my own home. But now I'm doing a fitness boot camp 5 days a week and even though I'm the heaviest and most of shape in the group it's really done wonders. I love it.

[Shmead]

A digital scale is really, really, really helpful: it's easier, much more accurate, and has no mess cleanup compared to measuring: with the z/t feature, you can reset it to zero after you add each thing in your salad, so just weigh stuff as you add it to the bowl and record.

[Vladadog]

I have to say after calorie counting for a few months it has gotten very easy and routine.

I only recently acquired a scale at a yard sale. So far I've been surprised to discover I have been wildly over estimating my calories. What I thought was 4 or 6 oz turns out to always be at least 2 oz less. I aim for 1550 calories a day, i usually get about 200 less and with my bad estimating I must have been getting less than that.

It's all such a learning experience!

[Chubs192]

Im house sitting at my sisters at the moment, just raided the cupboards and found a digital scale I have a huge amount of gardening and housework on my list to do today, not sure if I will fit my DVD in but Im going to try, I have been putting the list off for a few days so thats prioritised.

Wow bootcamp? That sounds intense! I will have a look at FitDay thankyou. I signed up to SparkPeople but its all really random and brightly coloured with so many adverts I get confused haha.

[RollTideRoll]

Good Luck You're gonna love calorie counting once you get the hang of it!!

[audrina]

I do a fitness boot camp for an hour a day, five days a week. It is pretty intense and I am by far the most out of shape person in my class -- BUT, I don't really feel too bad about it. I'm doing the best that I can do and everyone supports me in that, plus I have a really bad back injury so it's not like I would be able to do everything everyone else does in the first place.

To be honest, after a week of HATING it, I have started to love going. I look forward to it in the morning when I go to bed the previous night, it's a great way to start the day and keeps me motivated to eat well throughout the day -- I mean, I want all that hard work to pay off.

Plus, it's outside and that helps keep me motivated too, when I have to do the same thing over and over I tend to lose motivation very quickly and come up with excuses why I can't do them. That rarely happens now.

[Shmead]

Originally Posted by Chubs192

I have a huge amount of gardening and housework on my list to do today, not sure if I will fit my DVD in but Im going to try, I have been putting the list off for a few days so thats prioritised.

.

I am not your mom and I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but this is the exact sort of thinking that held me back for so long. I'd "plan to try" but other things came up. I'd feel ashamed, and guilty, and "plan to try harder" next time. It never worked.

Take two people--Suzie and Sally. Suzie sets out and plans to exercise an hour a day, which kicks her butt and leaves her exhausted. Half the time she finds a reason not to do it, because she hates every second of it and she never gets a break. She also simply doesn't have time to exercise an hour every day because she has other commitments. Sally plans to exercise every other day, and she always does it because it's not unreasonable. Sally and Suzie are working out the exact same amount, but Suzie feels guilty and like a failure half the time, and Sally feels good about herself and confident about her ability to stick to a plan. In a month, Sally can up her exercise and will be ready for a new commitment, but Suzie will still feel like she can't even do what she started out to do.

So find a plan you can stick to until it becomes a habit. Half-formed plans, deciding to "try" to do something, just lead to guilt and shame and, in the end, failure.

[Chubs192]

Thanks mum You are right about the putting it off thing but I don't feel bad about it, Im house sitting and my sister is home Saturday so I need to make sure everything is perfect, she is a bit OCD I think. Im not really a 'housewife' type I have decided haha.

I managed a half hour power walk yesterday on top of everything else I had planned (tiring household dullness) bar my exercise DVD and Im trying to convince my friend to go for a long walk today on the beach or in the woods.

Oh and 1581 calories yesterday

[audrina]

Great job! Are you planning on doing it today?

I hope you do get a chance to go for that walk today, it's a beautiful day.