Sunshine Report 6.27.09…
Well, this week was not a surprise. Weigh-in today reveals a .4 lb increase. But, I know why it happened and its an easy thing to avoid…
I’ve been trying to prep some props for the upcoming Georgia’s Jr. Miss program and decided (once again) to forego my Wednesday night Hip Hop fitness class at the gym, so that I could try and get them ready for the artwork part. And, that very day was my only day to have ever gone over my calories since I started tracking with SparkPeople (1,618 kcal instead of my max of 1550 kcal). What happened? Answer: canned pastas are fine for our parkour son (see above video), just not me. lol
Quite honestly, I chose to let this week slip by. No one can make the choice for me. And, I won’t say “Life happened” because this is MY life. I’m the one who makes the choice of whether or not to make up burning those calories somewhere other than my M/W Hip Hop class (which, by the way, burns 500-800 kcal depending on how hard I work it… again, the choice is mine). And, I was also the one who said, “Ugh, lemme just eat this because I don’t feel like thinking about what I want/should have right now.”
Okay, here’s the SUNSHINE: One of the reasons I started this a few weeks ago was because my weight had been creeping back at an alarming rate recently and it had to stop! Well… even though I hadn’t lost weight this week, I really haven’t gained anything back. I’ll claim this a victory! *\o/* Plus, my other measurements (waist and hips) hadn’t increased either. But, I think the brightest moment was when I learned a little formula (and for this artsy mind, learning a math equation is HUGE!!)
Did you know…. it takes 3500 kcal to either create or lose 1 lb of fat. Now, this isn’t something that can happen in a day… its a process over time. In the spirit of transparency, here are my stats: Since starting this process, my weekly average calorie in-take is 1438 kcal/day. And, my BMR is 1744 kcal (BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the number of calories your body burns on a daily basis to perform its basic tasks like breathing, pumping blood, and more. Your BMR calculation is based on your age and weight. Please note that BMR is not a perfect measure). My twice-a-week fitness class equals 1400 kcal burned for the week…but that makes it only 200 kcal/day for the week. Have I completely lost you yet?
In order to lose 1 lb in a week, I need to burn 3,500 kcal more than I take in. Here’s what a ‘good’ week looks like: eating = 1438 kcal/day, existing = 1744 kcal/day, excersise = 200 kcal/day… that’s makes a 506 kcal/day deficit. So, after 7 days that makes for a 3542 kcal differential which equals 1 lb lost.
BUT, that doesn’t mean that I just eat less to lose more! Remember, your body has to have at least 1200 kcal/day to avoid sliding into ‘starvation mode’ which causes your metabolism to slow down significantly. One way to lose more weight is to increase the calories burned. The other is to increase muscle mass through strength training, but, let me be honest… I’m just taking this one step at a time.
Need more inspiration? Read this… I found this blog this morning and his story is truly inspirational!
Have a happy and healthy week! And, remember…. I’m always here for you! <3
