Loosing weight should be easy in theory. Take in x calories per day, expel y calories per day. If x is greater then y, you are gaining weight. If y is greater then x, you are loosing weight. Like I said, this is relatively simple in principal… In practice, well that’s another matter. My running has two goals; trying to improve health, and loosing weight. They do go hand in hand, but are also separate entities. So, I’ve been on a quest to learn exactly what my x and y are.
Resolved: Keeping track of x and y can be a good thing. No need to get hysterical about it, but knowledge is power.
Unfortunately, x is rather hard to estimate. For instance, I have a sandwich and bag of chips for lunch. Well, the chips are easy, it tells me on the side how many I’m putting into my body. But the sandwich? Well, two pieces of bread, some cheese, some lettuce, and a small bit of mayo. What about that? Well, there’s a nice calorie estimator for some common foods over at webmd. http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-food-calorie-counter That can help a little, especially if I eat out. From there, I’ll have to begin estimating. To take this to the next level, I’ll begin recording what I eat each day, adding up the calories, and seeing where I’m at. I have a feeling I’ll be astounded by how much I take in. I know that caloric intake is not the only thing that matters in weight loss; there’s fat intake, cholesterol, and all that stuff. But, it’s a start. Need to start somewhere, right?
Now for y. I found an interesting device over at http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php which can estimate how many calories you burn on average on a daily needs. Looking at that it informs me that I burn about 2400 calories a day doing everyday activities. That seems a bit high, but we’ll take it for now. Finally, I can see what running or other exercise burns from Runners World; http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304-311-8402-0,00.html. It’s a pretty simple formula and should be a bit accurate.
So, this gives me a baseline x and y. I’ll do my best to start recording the previous days x and y and seeing where I’m at. My weekends should be lopsided, being that I drink a buttload of pop on the weekend and often go out to eat as well, but, we’ll see.
Run today was amazing. 102 degree heat index and loving it! Sweat, sweat, and more sweat. It was a good day. Tomorrow promises to be even hotter, thus, even better. I’ve seen no change in physical appearance yet, I didn’t really expect to, but as anyone whose ever been working out knows, it’s hard to stay motivated without results.
Resolved: Motivation is in the mind. Find something that motivates you and hold onto it for dear life!
Until tomorrow, trying to be honest with myself and the world.
Thursday, June 30.
Time out: 1204 Time In: 1234
Walks: 3 Inhaler Use: 2
Songs:
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