Livestrong's My Daily Plate

     Yesterday, I wrote about the physical activity that got me down 40 pounds.  Today, I'm writing my gratitude for the site that helped me keep track of what I was consuming and how much activity I needed in order for me to reach that goal.  Livestrong.com offered so much to me in the way of helping me see where I might be going wrong.  Last year, I wrote about all the different aspects of the site that I used here. 

     Because of its many features (and of course my dedication to using the site), I lost a good amount of weight.  Of course, I'm gaining quite a bit back due to the pregnant, but I'll worry about getting it back off after our little lady love is born.  :)  When I do, you can guarantee I'll be using this site.  Since, I've already written a post about the site, I won't go crazy telling you why I love it so much, but I will reiterate that it is amazing.  I know many people have used other sites and/or apps, but this worked well for me for a long time and I'm going to stick with it.

I'm thankful for My Daily Plate because it helped give me the tools and motivation I needed to lose weight and be healthy.

Can I Get an Update?

    I can't believe it's been two months since I posted about my weight loss plan.  Don't think I've been spending that time idly either.  In fact, this whole weight loss journey has kind of taken over my life.  Once everything was decided upon and I mentally prepared myself for what I was signing myself up for, "the plan" was set in motion and hasn't taken a breather since.  Here's a run down of all the things on my plan:

- Counting calories again using TheDailyPlate.com every day.
Done and Done.  Haven't missed a single day.  I'm so proud of myself.  I've definitely had days where I'd love to NOT know how many calories I've put in my belly, but plugged 'em in anyway.  Go Me!

-Post everything I eat on my food blog with the calories.
Again, haven't missed a day.  There were a couple of times I forgot to take a picture of something and/or recycled a picture I already had.  However, everything is still posted with calories for all the world to see here, on my food blog.  It seems more appropriate to call it my weight loss blog now since it's more than just about what I eat.

-Begin w/ doing the 30-day diet again and then continue with a scheduled meal plan.
This was a hard one to finish, but I done did it.  And didn't cheat once.  :)  Though, I was certainly happy to be done with it, I've decided I'm going to do it a couple more times this year.  It's just good to get a fresh start.  Until then, I'm taking pleasure in other things while trying not to overindulge.

-Visual of progress close to bed with encouraging statements. surrounding it.
This has turned out to be my favorite thing.  I LOVE looking over at my bedside wall and seeing the continued progress I've made.  My goals don't seem so far away when I look at how well I've done so far.
Here's what it looked like when I first started:

Here's what it looks like now:

Here's what my progress looks like on My Daily Plate (Starting on Jan. 1st to today):

-Have a reward system.
This has really been motivating.  I've earned 3 rewards so far and at the rate I'm going, the fourth is just a few weeks away.  I'll have to do another post later about the rewards I've earned for myself so far.

-Follow the C25K program.
It's been so good for me to do this, mostly because I HATE running.  However, I'm still stuck on Week 3 and haven't been able to get further.  I realized, after talking with a friend whose been doing it, that I started at the goal running level instead of where I probably should have started and built up from there.  The problem is I know I can run at that level and I don't want to stop, but it makes it difficult to get past where I'm at.  Running for 3 minutes is rough if you're not used to it.  So, I'm going to keep at it until I feel I'm doing well enough to move on.  As far as I'm concerned as long as I'm doing something, then it's fine to go at my own pace.

-Calisthenics and weight lifting with Ty.
Well, I got a little bit of a late start doing this, but I've finally gotten into it and I'm doing it three days a week.  However, I don't have my buddy with me.  :)  It just worked out better for me to do it during the day instead of waiting until night to do it with him.  I don't think he's crying over it either.  ;)

     As of today, I've lost 17 pounds since starting all that time ago (it doesn't seem like it's been two months).  Can you believe that?  Each Monday morning as I weigh myself, I'm excited to find out what all my hard work has earned me.  As shown on the above chart, I'm at 153 and anxious to get back into the 140's.  I haven't been there since the first 8 months of our marriage.  My Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with motivation and mental strength to keep going, even when I'm not excited to work out.  I constantly feel grateful for his help and try to make sure I tell him that as often as I can. 

    If you want to see what I've REALLY been eating and doing for workouts go to my Weight Loss blog here:  whatyouputinyourbelly.blogpot.com.  I'd love to get more comments because who doesn't need more encouragement?  Tips, recipes, and any other suggestions are fully welcome.

How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions?

Mission Get Skinnier

    Now that the holiday madness is over is time to start dieting and working off those pounds that I inevitably gained.  I've decided to go back to food blogging and getting back on track with counting calories.  I wrote all about my plan on my food blog, but I'll post here for you.

"    Holy Shenanigans!  Can you spell S-L-A-C-K-E-R!?  Cuz that's exactly what I am right now.  Honestly, I can't remember what caused the lack of motivation, but it was definitely gone.  Then, the holiday hit.  UGH!  My weaknesses and lovely vices came into play.  My thought was that I would get back to it right after New Year's.  That, I decided, was setting myself up for failure, because I didn't have a plan or any focus.  I, also, hadn't gone shopping yet and was in serious need of some food after being gone for about a week.  So, I came to the conclusion that I would give myself a week to get into gear and get a plan put together and prepare for it by buying groceries and whatever other materials I would need to be fully dedicated to it. 

    You may ask, "What's the plan, Stan?"  Well, it's pretty simple. 

-Counting calories again using TheDailyPlate.com every day. 
Recently, I purchased an iPhone and added their app, which will help when I can't get to a computer. 

-Post everything I eat on my food blog with the calories.
This is pretty self explanatory.  Though, I will also try and post workouts, weekly weigh-ins, and maybe even measurements.


-Begin w/ doing the 30-day diet again and then continue with a scheduled meal plan.
This 30-day diet may haunt my life forever, but you can't fight with success.  The scheduled meal plan is basically the 30-day diet, but I'm leaving the weekends for meals that deviate from it so I have a little more wiggle room.  Exceptions will also be made for when we are out of town or having dinner at someone else's home and can't control what's placed in front of me.

-Visual of progress close to bed with encouraging statements. surrounding it.
Here's what it looks like now:

I wanted this to be close to my bed so I would be able to see it every day.  This will help to let me see how well I'm doing and to appreciate the work I've done.  As I continue along, I'd like to add more encouraging statements.  It's important that the statements have zero negative words such as no, can't, don't, never.  This way I'm not eliminating possibilities, I'm adding to them.  I'll also have positive association with dieting, working out, and overall weight loss.


-Have a reward system.
This will not only give me fun prizes with each goal I meet, but it will give me something to work towards.  You may have noticed that I also put that on my chart, under each 5lbs. increment. 

5 lbs. - Red Lipstick

Always wanted it, but haven't been brave enough.

10lbs. - Inexpensive Jewelry (probably from Burlington Coat Factory)

I've bought several pieces there and love them.  I'd love to get more and this will give me a good opportunity to earn it.

15lbs. - Pair of Shoes

Been craving to get more flats.

20lbs. - Pouch for iPhone from Etsy

Haven't decided on one yet, but I'm loving this store, but this Golden Ticket one is tempting too!

25lbs. - Music on iTunes

I'm extremely behind on the times and still don't have ANY music on my iTunes yet.  I may have to cheat a little bit on this and buy this Running Trax album and use this reward for fun music.  What do you think?

30lbs. - Mani/Pedi

Did this for my birthday last year and I'm dying for another!

35lbs. - DDR for the Wii

I might have to do a little more research for this and compare the different dance games that are available, but this one has been around for awhile and seems like a lot of fun.

40lbs. - GO CLOTHES SHOPPING!!!

By this time, I'm betting that quite a few of my clothes won't be fitting and I'll be needing some new ones.  Well, okay, if I have to.  :)

-Follow the C25K program.

I stumbled upon this program online a few weeks ago and was going to try it, but it was the holidays.  Lately, its seems, a lot of people have been talking and raving about it and the iPhone app.  Now would be the time to give it a try.

- Calisthenics and weight lifting with Ty.

Back in the day, I was using ediets.com and they had a great list of work outs so I compiled the ones I liked best and that worked for me, then made a little routine. Ty and I have done this together a couple of times and I want to continue doing this three times a week or more.

   Eventually, I'd like to start taking dance classes again.  There is a studio across the street and they offer Adult Jazz, Hip-Hip and Zumba.  It would be great to finally get back to doing something I love.  I really miss dance so much my heart aches for it.  I may have to add 30 minutes a week of silly dancing just for good measure.  The basic idea is that only set small goals so that I don't loose hope if I haven't gone down to my ideal weight by a certain time.  That's also a big part of this.  Zero time goals.  I can loose weight, when and how my body is able.  I want to be happy with what I have and not have those disappointing Biggest Loser scale moments.

   All positive encouragement is welcomed.  If you have a great positive statement or quote you'd like to share with me, post it and maybe I'll put on my wall.

   Okay people, Mission Get Skinnier initiates today."

    
    What do you think of my plan?  What weight loss plans have you made?

My Daily Plate

  Just in case you were wondering how I was doing with losing weight and my food diary blog, to date I've lost 8 lbs. Posting and showing the world what I'm eating has definitely helped.  I can get pretty self-conscious about what I eat and then posting a picture of it for all the world to see.  It's not always fun to show that I might have gone out to eat or that I ate another Robbins cookie, but I've made a commitment to myself and I'm sticking to it.

A big help in choosing what I eat has been the site I use to count calories.

Thedailyplate.com

  When I first came upon the site, I wasn't really interested.  Instead, I started using Fitday.com, going off of a recommendation from Jenna of That Wife.  I liked it well enough for a little while, but it was frustrating that I had to keep entering in Custom Foods because it didn't have a database of brands and such.  For me it's important to be as specific as I can (of course allowing for a little lee-way).

  Eventually, I would stumble on a portion of the site every now and then and I was intrigued by their database of food and by how accurate it all was.  I finally decided to sign up and have really enjoyed each of its features.  

Here's what I love about the site.

  Obviously the first thing is the database.  I love that it has such a wide range of brands and restaurants listed.  There are even off brands.  The more local things are the harder it is to find, however, but you'd have to expect that with any site.

  The bright yellow box that says "* VERIFIED *" means that it has been verified by either a user or site.  Even so, you want to make sure they have all the correct information.  I try to make sure that if something is outdated or I know it is correct, I take the time to share my verification.

Here is what a day can look like in my food log:

  I like that I can separate each of the meals so I know just how many calories will go into a certain setting.  There is also the "Frequently Eaten" and "My Recipes" tabs that I like to use because it saves me time searching.

If I wanted to see it all together I also have a food diary.  This shows more than one day at a time, but for screen shot purposes, it was condensed.

  I'm really enjoying the Intake Totals.  The Nutrient Goals is new, but is only available to the GOLD membership which costs money.  At some point this might be worth it, but for now, I'm good seeing the totals as they are.

Since that day I had Red Lobster, and ended up pretty far over my calorie limit, I decided to get on the treadmill to work off some calories.

This also has tabs that save time searching with "My Workouts", My Loops", and "What I Do Regularly".

Looking up exercises is really simple, and again, they have a large database.

Let's say I wanted to do some Calisthenics, I'd look up under "C".  There are two types, light or moderate and vigorous.  After reading the description I know that light or moderate is more like stretching exercises, so I choose vigorous.

If I want to add this to my Fitness log, I hit the "I did this!" button and it asks me what day and for hour long.  You can also add in distance and heart rate for the appropriate exercises.

One of my favorite fitness features is the Loops:

You can track for cycling, running, or walking.

Here's one that I've entered:

Using Google Maps, you can map out the path or loop you take.  It will tell you how many miles and also keep track of the elevation.

In the bottom right you'll see the Route Summary:

You can adjust the speed and your weight to get the appropriate time and estimated calories.  There is also the ability to change to Metric, if you should feel so inclined.

Now, you might be wondering how I figure out how I set my calorie limit.  Using the Calorie Calculator of course!

I tell it my age, height, weight, goal of how many pounds a week I'd like to loose, and my lifestyle activity.  I hit " Save and Calculate " and it comes up with my calorie limit.

When I go to MyPlate, I'll have my limit set in the right corner.  If ever I go over my calories, the line turns red.  I try to avoid that.

I also am given a graph of how I'm doing today against the past week.

Underneath that I have a place to track how much water I've had during the day.

The last little graph it shows me is my Nutrient percentages for the day.  I could have done better on this day.

Obviously, I'll want to track my weight.  Every week when I weigh-in, I enter in the amount and the graph changes.  Also, when I add my weight, the calorie calculator automatically adjusts my calorie limit to what my new goal is.

I can also check my BMI:

And I can keep track of my Body measurements for Chest, Waist, Neck, and Hips

(To add measurements for other areas you must have a GOLD membership) :

For each of these graphs, if you place the mouse arrow over a entry (dot) it will give the amount entered or calculated.

My favorite, and the most tiring, thing is adding in recipes.  It can take awhile sometimes to add in recipes, but is so worth it in the end.

When you are done adding all the ingredients and instructions, it brings up your recipe and tells you how many calories per servings (which you assign) and also gives the Nutritional information.

Here's the one for Robbins Pizza Crust:

Click on the link for the recipe

 

The only thing that I don't like about the recipe section is they don't let you delete recipes.  You are able to go in and edit them, but I have two recipes that are the same on accident and now I can't delete one.  

I've been trying to convince Ty that I really need to be cool and get an Iphone, but alas my efforts have gone on unsuccessfully.  If I did have one though (or a blackberry), there is also an app (Yeah, there's an app for that.) that can be used just like the website.

Here's the link to the video that talks about it.  Scroll down to the bottom to see the video.

They also have a section for Diabetics to keep track and stay healthy.

There's more to this site that I haven't talked about, but I think I covered all the high points for me.  I really love this site.  It's helped me get to be 15 pounds lighter than last summer so I would say I've really benefited from it. 

If you decide to take the plunge and join let me know!

You can check out my profile on the site here.

Check out my food diary blog to see how I fair in the weigh-in this week.