2.19.2011

Where the control LIES...and clarification...

Hey guys..
So, I am on my new forever plan...
I feel I may have been unclear as regards my intake and outflow.
So, let me clarify.
To maintain 135 pounds...and I could do all the math in the world..
I simply add a zero.
and you can take whatever calculations you want, add it up and it will spit out about that number.
I know, I have done it.

Then I add my calories.
some people were concerned I was over estimating my caloric burn at the gym.
That 3000 calorie burn level is conservative.
that would be a 600/400 pattern
I change up my routine ever 3 months to adjust for my body getting used to a routine.
Which is actually a quicker cycling than most recommend.
right now I am doing 1 hour elliptical...140 situps and upper body weights..
I am only counting my elliptical burn which usually comes in around 700...but I give myself 600.
I go aout 5.6 miles on the elliptical..so even if I had walked it..it would 100 calories per mile not counting the resistance which is usually around a six.
Then on the other days....I do a two mile walk, two mile jog and my situps and stretching which comes in at 400 calories burned.
So...
a six day pattern is 3000 calories.
I won't be counting my 300 calorie 3 mile walk on sundays to finish out my everyday till may promise.
Now...
I have been spot on with this calorie count exercise burn thing from the get go...
actually I have been conservative, because when I am spot on, I lose faster than my calculations would suggest...
Why?
Because I don't take into account the house cleaning, yard work and grocery shopping et al that I do day in and day out.
Now on to my plan for life.
1350 plus calories accumulated due to exercise.
My plan is to eat 1600 calories per day.
and 'bank' the rest for when I want a higher calorie day...which will probably be on Sundays.
so to be specific....
M-Tue-Wed-Th-F-S -S will be a minimum of 1600 calories a day....
This would be dreadful if i were not exercising...To maintain 135 pounds on that schedule I would only have to do three days of ellipticaling...I have created a 1450 calorie excess (250 calorie per day excess) by eating 1600 calories which I will have to BURN OFF If I don't want to regain....three days of ellipticalling (1800 calories will cover the 1450 calorie excess) will take care of 7 days of 1600 calories and then some...
You could do this as well with 7 days of 2.5 mile walks as well....

This number of calories is doable.
But I would like an occassional meal out, or special family dinner...
That is where the other 1200 calories of walking/running comes in...
I will probably bank them all through the week and spend them on a saturday or a sunday when i want to go out..
Or bank them for two weeks for a restaurant meal and movie with no counting and no guilt.
If I find I am losing beyond my goal weight I have the option of upping my calories.
If I am not losing any weight...Or heaven forbid...gaining weight...
(which I don't think will happen)
It is better to find out now and adjust than get to 132 and become upset because my big plan isn't working.
I will post my weight under my name on March first..
I will do a blurb daily of calories consumed..calories expended and how much i have in my daily calorie bank and trust..
I will fill you in on how it feels...how hungry or not hungry I am....what meals I am making now for my family..and how I am integrating maintenance into my life...

Now,
As for my last post...I hope I didn't give the impression that somehow My life changed and therefore I changed.
It was the exact opposite.
And that is the drum I have been beating since I started this blog.
Everything in my life has the same components...
I am married to the same man,
Same house...less money...
I have the same kids...same responsibilities...same stressors...
except for the stressors I removed.
The ones that were keeping me from doing what I needed to do and becoming who I wanted to become.
For instance...
boundaries.
I drew some.
If you don't have boundaries, then anybody can invade your space at any time and in any circumstance.
If you don't have rules about how you want to be treated...
you won't know when to hit the flush button on certain people.
Now there are some people you just can't flush...I get that.
But if you clean up the other aspects of you life...It makes it A LOT easier to deal with the one or two aspects you can not get rid of.
For some reason I thought it was my job to make everyone's life easier.
I had to be useful.
Now there is nothing wrong with being useful and helping people...but doing it at the expense of your life and your health is wrong.
What use will you be dead?
none.
The thing that changed that needed to change was ME.
When I changed how I dealt with the world, how I viewed it and my place in it...and when I clarified what I wanted and went after it..

The world didn't change...
MY WORLD CHANGED...
Because I CHANGED.

If I had waited for my life to come together I would still be sitting in a messy house, 130 pounds overweight, miserable, blaming my childhood, my husband, my circumstances for the state I was in...
So if I am HERE NOW.
What changed?!
ME.
The control lies with me.
and you.
will the world ever be perfect?
NO.
Only you can control how you approach it. How you interact and what you make of it.
That is the difference.
Have a great night guys,
Chris out.

12 comments:

Robin said...

The control lies with me. Powerful words. When you have so many things that feel out of control, it can be really hard to know where to start to get a handle on the "beast" that is your life so that you can begin taking it back. When you have debilitating migraines that make every thought a challenge, that process is really hard. But not impossible. The control lies with me. No matter what the circumstance, the control lies with me. I will say that it would be a heck of a lot easier if I could just get a stretch of time that is migraine-free so that I could put some coherent thoughts together. That would really make that whole tackling the beast thing a heck of a lot easier. Just sayin'. But you're still right. No matter how slice it.

Ms. M said...

I so love the last lines of this post - I think I am going to write them down & post them on my fridge (if that's okay with you). Amazing stuff! :)

Retta said...

I love how you are planning for "normalcy", like going guilt free for a nice dinner out with your family... that kind of thing. You are being realistic about it, and taking charge to make it happen. Good stuff!

Beth said...

I'm going to have to make a point of remembering your posts from the past two days. They are especially excellent!

Putz said...

putz in, ,.<><><><><>>what if i were to say nobody really changes, that what you had with you from the preexistance is and will always be part of you and you don't know what that element was, like if you were born with a bad seed{REMEMBER THAT MOVIE} or you believe the devil always makes you do it, or from your genes you just can't overcome some things about you<>,,what if i was to say that

Anonymous said...

Bravo!!!

Weighing Well said...

Wonderful post! You have such a great handle on this and I enjoy reading your blog as you spell out your plan with precision and it is obvious you have put a lot of thought into what you want, and how you can accomplish that.

I really like the part about boundaries and flushing people. Just before I started this life change I flushed about 100 facebook "friends" and a couple of bitchy women from my life. It was a strong and empowering move that helped me start my blog and post the link to my facebook. I am now aligning myself with supportive and nice people because that's how I want to be and that's they kind of folks who build me up - not pull me down.

So happy for you and encouraged by your blog!

Kim

Anonymous said...

Regards the boundary-setting, I've found that I am a nicer person when I set boundaries as well. When you let someone walk all over you, you tend to overcompensate by being rigid with others. And yes ... mostly for women, it's letting men walk over us, and then ripping another woman or a child a new one when they transgress a boundary by even one inch.

But when we set boundaries, we feel more generous when others come in -- we don't feel resentful when men take a mile, and we don't feel furious when another woman takes an inch because we're been giving in to men all our lives.

I just thought it was weird when I realized that. We're nicer people to men, women, and children with our own boundaries in place.

Christine Jeske said...

::high five::
Good job! :)

MargieAnne said...

Yesterday you wrote ...."But one day I looked up and said
It ain't over till ...lol.
the fat lady sings."

Years ago someone propheseyd this over e not understanding why he said these particular words.

I have often wondered exactly what was meant.

I believe your post has enlightened me. Thanks so much for being you.

Blessings.

'Yellow Rose' Jasmine said...

Yup. So absolutely true. When we change, boy does life change! I have spent so much time in wonder and awe lately. I have a wonderful solace and new hope that is permeating my very existence. Sometimes it comes out strange and I'm still working through the bits and pieces, but it is becoming so good.
Were you surprised at how happy you have become?
I spent so much time being happy in spite of, that now just plain happy is somewhat shocking. It's a nice surprise!

jo said...

Amazing--once again.