Weight Loss For Geeks
It's been awhile since I posted a South Beach update, but I am still following Phase 2 eating principles faithfully — lean proteins, lowfat dairy, whole grains, legumes, veggies, fruit. I've cut my microbrew consumption back to maybe one bottle of nectar every two weeks. I'm drinking my water and exercising, although not as much as I need to be. And I still haven't lost one more ounce beyond the 3 pounds I lost during Phase 1. Why? Because clearly I am a person that needs more structure, not less, when trying to lose weight.
Enter the bodybugg.
If you've watched a recent season of The Biggest Loser or stepped inside a gym lately, you have likely seen one. In a nutshell, the bodybugg is a device that you wear on your upper right arm and it measures motion, body heat, skin conductivity, and skin temperature to "read" how many calories you are burining throughout the day. Although Michael got one months ago, I resisted — it seemed outrageously expensive and I couldn't envision wearing an armband 24/7 (it would totally spoil the line of my outfit!)
However, we recently renewed our membership at 24 Hour Fitness and a bodybugg was part of the package. Since Michael already had one, I figured I might as well give it a try.
I've been wearing my bodybugg since Sunday, and it's turned out to be very easy to use and comfortable to wear. I don't feel it at all, and it doesn't bulge out as much as I had feared. As part of the bodybugg program, they also provide a very easy-to-use calorie tracking web application, where you can enter in your foods quickly and easily.
Now here's the sobering part.
According to the bodybugg, I burnt 2076 calories yesterday. My activity level was that of a normal cube dweller (sitting mostly on my a** for 9 hours) plus 60 minutes on the recumbent bike. Although I saw a decent burn during the bike ride, it still wasn't enough to get my calorie expenditure above 2450, which is what I need to lose 2 pounds a week if I stick with a 1450 calorie intake.
The other sobering thing? When you actually weigh out your portions and enter your intake as grams (which is what the bodybugg program uses) you are actually eating a lot more calories than you think you are. For example, yesterday I ate very healthfully, yet when I weighed everything and logged it in honestly, I consumed 1772 calories! So, with only a 304 calorie deficit between calories burned and calories eaten, I'm on track to not even lose one pound this week, even though I am living what feels like a healthy lifestyle.
The silver lining here is that overall, I am eating way under the daily limits for sodium and at or above the daily recommendation for fiber. Yeah, me!
Bottom line: if you're having trouble losing weight and you think you're doing everything right, you may want to take a harder look. What I've realized is that I need to move a LOT more, which is admittedly a challenge with a busy desk job. I've also realized that even with my healthy eating habits, I am still consuming too much healthy food — easy to do when favorites like hummus have 70 calories for 2 TBSP. Who eats 2 TBSP of hummus? I'd say a cup of hummus is a good serving!
I'll keep you posted on how it goes with the bodybugg. It's only Day 3 so too early to really make a judgement, but initial impressions are highly favorable.
Enter the bodybugg.
If you've watched a recent season of The Biggest Loser or stepped inside a gym lately, you have likely seen one. In a nutshell, the bodybugg is a device that you wear on your upper right arm and it measures motion, body heat, skin conductivity, and skin temperature to "read" how many calories you are burining throughout the day. Although Michael got one months ago, I resisted — it seemed outrageously expensive and I couldn't envision wearing an armband 24/7 (it would totally spoil the line of my outfit!)
However, we recently renewed our membership at 24 Hour Fitness and a bodybugg was part of the package. Since Michael already had one, I figured I might as well give it a try.
I've been wearing my bodybugg since Sunday, and it's turned out to be very easy to use and comfortable to wear. I don't feel it at all, and it doesn't bulge out as much as I had feared. As part of the bodybugg program, they also provide a very easy-to-use calorie tracking web application, where you can enter in your foods quickly and easily.
Now here's the sobering part.
According to the bodybugg, I burnt 2076 calories yesterday. My activity level was that of a normal cube dweller (sitting mostly on my a** for 9 hours) plus 60 minutes on the recumbent bike. Although I saw a decent burn during the bike ride, it still wasn't enough to get my calorie expenditure above 2450, which is what I need to lose 2 pounds a week if I stick with a 1450 calorie intake.
The other sobering thing? When you actually weigh out your portions and enter your intake as grams (which is what the bodybugg program uses) you are actually eating a lot more calories than you think you are. For example, yesterday I ate very healthfully, yet when I weighed everything and logged it in honestly, I consumed 1772 calories! So, with only a 304 calorie deficit between calories burned and calories eaten, I'm on track to not even lose one pound this week, even though I am living what feels like a healthy lifestyle.
The silver lining here is that overall, I am eating way under the daily limits for sodium and at or above the daily recommendation for fiber. Yeah, me!
Bottom line: if you're having trouble losing weight and you think you're doing everything right, you may want to take a harder look. What I've realized is that I need to move a LOT more, which is admittedly a challenge with a busy desk job. I've also realized that even with my healthy eating habits, I am still consuming too much healthy food — easy to do when favorites like hummus have 70 calories for 2 TBSP. Who eats 2 TBSP of hummus? I'd say a cup of hummus is a good serving!
I'll keep you posted on how it goes with the bodybugg. It's only Day 3 so too early to really make a judgement, but initial impressions are highly favorable.
I give up on diets and exercise programs. I'm at my worst weight since moving to this country. My only way to lose the pounds is stop eating out.
It's hard when your a couple with no kids and with the crazy work schedule I have; it's easier to head over to the local pizza place for a slice (or 5) and a jug of beer. I'm finding by cooking more at home; while shopping at over priced stores (damn where are you Trader Joes)such as Whole Pay Check to buy more organic fruits and veggies (the magic bullet helps) and avoiding the EVIL middle isles (welcome to High Fructose Heaven); I'm finding I'm losing a couple of pounds every week.
This is until I had a bad day at work and it's off to the Cheesecake Factory and the cycle starts all over again.
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Hey D, good to hear from you!
No Trader Joe's in Florida?!?! What's up with that!
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I think they did have Trader Joes, but with all the employees that have the right to bring a firearm to work with them in this fine state called Florida; all the employees are gone into hiding.
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