On a Road Again

Well, last night, after returning to my parents' home from the Easter weekend, I shared with my mom that I had gained 3 pounds since the time I had been there. I also said that I really would like to trim up by the time my sister-in-law gets married at the end of June. My mother responded by asking if I wanted to join some sort of online fitness program with her. We compared Weight Watchers and Biggest Loser and JillianMichaels.com, and I finally just said, all you are really paying for is accountability here...sort of like a gym membership, if you are paying for the service, then you are at least a bit more motivated to go to the gym...

About a year ago, I was doing great with exercising and eating right. And I've been accustomed to watching what I eat and designing dieting charts for myself. I used to be on a diet I call "Eating for Energy" which is all about eating the right kind of food at the right time in the day in order to feel energized (because during that time in my life, I was feeling really groggy at around 2pm each day).

With this hodge-podge of "experience," I told my mom we could lose the weight we wanted to on our own!

This morning, I woke up and walked on the treadmill (because it is so cold outside!) for 60 minutes. I walked, because I wanted to keep my heart rate in the "fat burning" zone, which is 60-70% of one's maximum heart rate. Each person's maximum heart rate is different. This is a calculation I found somewhere online: Start with the number 220 (if you are male), or 226 (if you are female). Subtract your age. The difference is your maximum heart rate. Multiply that number by 0.6 and then by 0.7 to calculate your heart rate range for fat burning.

I burned 376 calories during my 60-minute walk this morning. And I plan to exercise each day for 60 to 90 minutes; alternating cardio with strength training, and reserving one day per week for low-impact exercise (such as yoga or pilates).

In conjunction with exercise, I am drawing upon some recommendations of the Biggest Loser diet to calculate the number of calories my mother and I should eat each day. The Biggest Loser suggests that if you are 150 to 300 pounds, then take your weight and multiply it by 7 to calculate the number of calories you can consume each day. If you are less than 150 pounds, then you should consume no more than 1050 calories each day. If you are more than 300 pounds, then you should consume no more than 2100 calories each day.

I currently weigh 132 pounds and would like to lose 10 pounds, which brings me to around the weight I was on my wedding day. But muscle toning is also important to me, and since muscle weighs more than fat, I won't beat myself up if I do not reach this goal of 10 pounds. Therefore, I will also include my measurements for later comparison:

Chest: 34.25"
Waist: 28.5"
Hips: 38.25"

I guess we will all see how I do by the end of June!