Day 6 - 75.8kg/166.8lbs

So it feels like the hardest part is over for the moment. Ive gotten through the first five days without any major issues. The head aches are gone and I feel strong enough to go the the gym. I made it there yesterday, but just to weigh myself. 75.8kg (166.8lbs) so I’ve lost 1.3kg (2.9lbd) which is not bad considering that I haven’t started the exercise part yet!

Why did I choose atkins and what exactly am I doing?

My sister went on a “no sugar” diet at the beginning of the year. She has two kids and has been carrying nearly all her baby weight since her little girl was born six years ago! Her and her husband have lost weight together over the last six years, but always put it back on. So she went to her Doctor and was given a program that involved stages… the first two weeks were really strict and then it eased up a bit. No pasta, potatoes, sugar, chocolate, soft drinks, fruit, fruit juice. Sounded just like Atkins to me! So I re-read the basic principles on the Atkins Website and went and did the grocery shopping.

What have I been eating for the last five days? Smoked salmon, Chicken breast, Kangaroo, Avocado, Cheese, Olives, Cucumber, Cos lettuce, Coffee (1 cup per day). I made mini-frittatas with chicken and leek in them and they have gotten me through the hardest moments.

The key to doing this successfully (well in the first week anyway) is to be prepared. After I did the grocery shop I cubed up half the cheese and cucumber so I would always have something to grab, the mini-frittats have a great flavour so when you have one you actually feel like its a bit of a treat anyway. I always have drank my 2 litres of water a day so that wasn’t a problem starting. What has been hard is cutting my coffee back to one cup in the morning - I was drinking about three a day (thats 30g of sugar just in the coffee!).

Atkins induction ( the first two weeks) is 20g net carbs per day. Ive been sitting about 22-26g per day which I am very happy with. The next step is adding in the exercise….

Day 4

Hey there

I have survived the first three days. Man they were hard, and I pretty much felt like shit for all of them. Tired, headachey, cramps, grumpy…. Today… well today I felt clear. I felt good… and just a little bit thinner!

There was a hairy moment on day two when I thought I was going to be out of the house for about an hour and it turned into three. I hadn’t taken any food with me…. I felt so sick and people kept offering me bread or potatoes. Mad dash to the closest supermarket and I bought cheese and smoked salmon.

I feel good enough to get to the gym tomorrow morning, so I will weigh myself then. Im looking forward to incorporating cardio and weights.

Bigger update on day 6

joey

Day 1

So its Friday and its day 1of 182. Man that is a scary number!

Im doing the whole low-carb/Atkins thing and I feel a little weird writing that down!

I have to say that I really feel like shit….oh wait the bottle of white wine and the half bottle of vodka might have something to do with it! In all my wisdom I decided that seeing as there is no alcohol for two weeks I should drink a ridiculous amount in some sort of goodbye… I wouldn’t recommend it, but I’m certain I would do it again.

My starting weight is 77.1kg (169.6lbs). I will be sticking to the 20g carb limit for the first two weeks and then re-evaluating. Also there will be no exercise for the first 3-4 days while my body gets use to burning ketones instead of sugar.

There is a post coming about Atkins Anger, just at the moment it looks like a four-year old wrote it… thats what excessive drinking will do to you!

Later

Goals

There is so much stuff out there, about weight loss, about positive thinking , about goal setting. Just a basic internet search will find all this stuff and you can spend days reading all about it. Spend weeks doing on-line quizzes and exercises.

But how do you really come to terms with your goals. My long term goal is to lose 20kg (44lbs). I know what I will look like, because I’ve been at that weight before. I will be able to rescue a whole lot of clothes from garbage bag hell and I will be able to buy a normal size bra that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

But my mind doesn’t really get it, I have to remove 20kg (44lbs - 154000 calories) from my body. Every single day for the next six months (26 weeks - 182 days) I have to consider what I eat, I have to plan exercise (and do it)…

So I put it off… because 182 days is a long time. I will start next week because this week we have two dinners to attend. I will start next week because I had extra work on this week. I will start next week, because this week is nearly over.

Actually I’m going to start this Friday, because that is the first day I can do a proper grocery shop and get to the gym. So two days to plan and then its on - no matter what my mind thinks!

the numbers, THE NUMBERS!

I love weight loss numbers. I am obsessed with them. I search other weight loss blogs and sites just looking for the numbers, I stay and read based on the numbers.

So I thought i would share some the crazy weight loss maths that I do from time to time - mostly when i don’t want to go to the gym!

1. Metric to Imperial conversions. 1kg = 2.2lbs I need to know my current weight in both formats- Its essential! 1mile = 1.6kilometres My treadmill records miles, when I make the conversion I feel that I’ve worked harder! 1calorie = 4.19kilojoules most of the nutritional labels in Australia have Kj on them. Finally my height 158cm or 5″2 1/2′.

2. BMI. This calculation is done using many different website calculators which give slightly different answers and uses before mentioned calculations of height and weight. Depending where I calculate this I am either overweight or obese class1.

3. BMR. This is my favorite calculation, this can amuse me for hours! This is the BMR Calculator that I normally use. Your BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate. The base amount of calories that your body needs to stay alive and function without losing or gaining weight. Right now mine is 1530. Next you use the Harris Benedict Equation. All you have to do is decide if your lifestyle is sedentary, light, moderate, very or extra active…. Man this is sooo exciting. You multiply your BMR (1530) by your lifestyle (i’m going with moderate, so 1.55) and you get the number of calories you need each day to maintain your weight (2371).

4. Kilos or pounds to calories. 1lbis 3500 calories, 2lbs is 7000, 2.2lbs (which is 1kg) is 7700 calories. Ok so how many calories am I? 77.2kg x7700 = 549,440 or 169.84 x 3500 = 549,440. Yes I am a little strange.

5. How much to lose (and how to calculate it!) Well BMI is a good way to start, so a BMI of 20 - 25 for me is 50kg (110lbs) - 63.2kg (139lbs). To get back to 63.2kg i need to lose 14kg (30.8lbs). Or create a calorie deficit of 107,800…. you see its all coming together - I’m having a little bit too much fun, no?

Finally…

If i want to lose .8kg (1.76lbs) per week I need to create a calorie deficit of 6160 per week, or 880 calories per day. Currently I need 2371 to maintain my weight, 1800 calories a day is a sensible amount of food. 2371 - 1800 = 571. I need to do 309 calories worth of exercise everyday to achieve my 880 calorie deficit, which is doable.

All of the above is totally dependant on counting calories…… which I don’t.

Hahaha I just kill me sometimes.

Its all about ME

Hello
This is going to be another weight loss blog.
A blog about my weight loss.

I will start with what we are all shamefully fascinated with : Statistics and Numbers.

SEX female
AGE 32
HEIGHT 5ft 2in
WEIGHT 77.2kg (169.84lbs)
BMI 30

History : I was a healthy weight until about 29 years of age, then I moved back to Australia and my lifestyle changed completely. Over the course of a year I put on 7kg (15.4lbs). Just after my 30th birthday (August 2005) I had a minor motorbike accident which left me very angry and depressed. I quickly put on another 8kg (17.6lbs).
I wandered along not really worrying about it until December 2006 when photos where taken of me and my best friend. Not only did I look huge (she is a naturally small girl - everyone looks big next to her) I looked sick!! Bad skin, gross hair - I couldn’t quiet believe that it was actually me.
Things got left another 3 months until March 2007 when I joined a gym and got organised. But it wasn’t meant to be. I would lose 4-5kg (8.8 - 11lbs) then there would be a problem at work, or at home or in Siberia and I would drop everything to fix it.
Disaster averted I would realise that I had undone all my hard work. No problems just start again… lose weight… impending doom… gain weight…. wash, rinse, repeat!

So here I am starting one last time, because no matter how much doom the cosmos has scheduled for me this year I will handle it and lose weight!