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If Only It Were True

Nov 2011

One of my favorite tools is MyFitnessPal.com. It makes it easy for me to keep track of my protein intake as well as my exercise habits.

However, I also think that some features on MyFitnessPal are on crack. Specifically, the feature that tells me that “if every day were like today….you’d weigh X in 5 weeks.”

Weight loss doesn’t work like this.

Intellectually, a pound of weight equals 3,500 calories. If you burn more than 3,500 calories than you take in, you will lose a pound of weight.

At my height and weight, I burn about 1900 calories a day without doing anything extra. To lose weight, I would need to consume less than that.

I do DO extra. I exercise regularly. I also consume between 500 to 800 calories a day. It is normally around 600 or so.

This means, even at my sedentary calorie burn of 1900, I should have a deficit of (1900-600) 1300 calories. If 3,500 calories equals a pound, I should be losing at least 1 pound every three days (1300 x 3 = 3900).

But weight loss doesn’t really work that way.

At a light activity level, my calorie burn is actually 2210. At moderate level, it is 2500. This means my activity level minus my intake should mean I have a burn of about 1500 to 1900 calories a day, which should translate to about a pound lost every two days.

I lose weight slower than this. It can take me a week to lose a single pound despite what the math says.

This all brings me to MyFitnessPal, which I suspect uses the above math to calculate how much I SHOULD weigh in 5 weeks time.

I used to believe its predictions. I now believe it is about 10 pounds off.

Five weeks ago, in October, it was telling me I’d weigh 192-196 range. Occasionally, it would suggest I would weigh 189 or so. I weigh 200.

It is now telling me that in 5 weeks, I will weigh 178 pounds. For most of the past few weeks, it has been predicting low 180s. This means, it believes I will weigh in at 178 on January 4.

It’s not happening.

I do hope to be under 200 by Christmas. That’s right. I am giving myself 25 days to lose a pound. I better be successful.

Another reason MFP might be a bit inaccurate with this prediction is the exercise factor. Yesterday, which is the day the prediction is from, was a Zumba day. I Zumba’d my butt off for 65 minutes. This burns LOTS of calories. I, however, do not Zumba every day. I am hoping to make Zumba a habit twice a week.

I also want to point out how PITIFUL the difference in calories are when you go from sedentary (1900) to moderately active (2500).

Sedentary is described as:

At work – you work in an office
At home – you’re usually sitting, reading, typing or working at a computer
Exercise – you don’t exercise regularly

Moderate is described as:

At work – you are very active much of the day
At home – you rarely sit and do heavy housework or gardening
Exercise – you exercise several times a week and push yourself pretty hard

From not exercising regularly and sitting around to exercising several times a week and pushing yourself, you only earn 600 calories of burn? Ugh! No wonder losing weight is so hard.

Category: Fat Man's Daughter, Weighty Thoughts Tags: Exercise, Fat Man's Daughter, weight, weight loss surgery Comments off

Sixteen Weeks

Nov 2011

Linda

Today, November 29, marks 14 weeks since my surgery. My surgery date was August 9, which was a Tuesday. Today is also a Tuesday (imagine that).

To the right, you will see what I looked like in July, roughly 18 weeks ago. Next to that, you will see what I looked like in November.

The difference is a loss of 55 pounds.

Check out the arms! The upper and lower arms are visibly smaller.

Not to mention that belly. In the picture to the left, my belly stuck out PAST my boobs. In the picture on the right, my boobs are clearly winning the race despite the fact that they are also smaller than they were in July. I like to think that although they are smaller, they are still in proportion with my smaller body.

And where do I see the biggest difference? My butt and thighs. I love having smaller thighs.

Where don’t I see the difference?

There isn’t any place that I haven’t noticed a difference. My fingers are skinnier. My wrists are smaller. My feet are skinnier. My knees, elbows, and yesterday, I was noticing how much smaller my shoulders are from what I remember them being.

I can feel my hip bones. I can feel my ribs. Both are right under the skin and no longer hidden by layers of fat. I can see my collar bones. My jaw bone is back. My cheeks are skinnier.

I am about halfway to goal. I am ounces away from Wonderland.

I have more energy. I feel better. I no longer snore at night. I can find better cuter clothes that cost less money.

I am loving the positive changes in my health that are a result of my sleeve surgery.

Category: Fat Man's Daughter Tags: Fat Man's Daughter, weight, weight loss surgery Comments off

Car Wars

Nov 2011

Linda

Mornings have become a battle ground at my house, but it isn’t because of any of the usual things (wearing someone else’s clothes, grabbing the last pop tart, getting in someone’s way, stealing mom’s socks, not getting ready, failing to get out of bed, etc.).

My oldest child, 17, has to drive to school at least twice a week because she takes afternoon classes at the local community college.

My second-oldest child has decided that she hates to ride the bus to school.

That picture is of the two of them in one of the rare moments when they are smiling and looking like they might actually like/love each other. (On a similar note, their behavior towards each other was so much sweeter when they were younger as evidenced by the family videos we watched while decorating our house for Christmas last week.)

As a result, my second-oldest child, without asking, will just get ready slow enough that she has to ride with her older sister.

Apparently, this is the way to kill/torture/maim the older sister because the older sister is never happy about this. It seems she would rather have her eyelids cut off than have her younger siblings ride in the same vehicle with her despite the years they spent in the same vehicle together.

I was driving to work and received a phone call from the oldest child who was concerned that younger siblings were planning on riding with her. “I’ll take the bus and not drive,” she threatened me. I wasn’t worried. I told her to not worry about it. She started objecting and complaining, and I said goodbye and hung up.

You see, the second-oldest child has already called and asked for alternative school-carrying means to be approved. I had approved them. The younger siblings were not riding with the oldest nor on the bus, but they were hiding that just to aggravate the oldest child. It worked.

The next day, the oldest child found a way to get the upper hand. She got up, got dressed and let it be known that she planned to ride the bus. When the bus arrived, all four children went out the front door. The oldest walked slowly toward the bus.

As her younger sister crossed the road to get on the bus, the oldest child waved bye and turned around and came back in the house. She planned on driving all along but didn’t want her siblings to know about it. It worked once, but I don’t think it will work again.

And I have to wonder, what is so wrong with siblings riding to school together?

Category: Parenting Tags: Amanda, Autumn, driver's ed, Parenting, teenagers Comments off

Thanking the Academy, Part Two

Nov 2011

Linda

It turns out, I was nominated for not just one but TWO awards by the amazing Sheila of ThisOneBody. This is my chance to thank her and to recognize some other great bloggers out there.

The rules of this nomination are:

Nominees, in order to accept this award you must:
-Thank and link back to the person who awarded you
-Write seven random things about yourself.
-Award seven other awesome and inspiring bloggers.

Without further ado, here are seven random things about me:

I have made a career out of writing and teaching writing, but English was NOT my highest ACT score (college application test).
So what did I score highest in? In fact, I scored a 29 out of 30 in this category. It was Science.
Most summers, my parents and I would load up our camper and travel around the country visiting relatives including my older siblings. We would return back home in time for me to start school in the fall.
This means I have been to almost every state in our nation by car, which is a great way to travel and see the country. Although, I probably spent more of this traveling time with my nose in a book than my mother would have liked me to.
I have two brothers and two sisters who are 11, 13, 14 and 15 years older than me. As a result, I became an aunt when I was only 5.5 years old.
When she began talking, I refused to acknowledge anything my niece said unless she called me AUNT Linda. It worked, and when I was a teenager, I couldn’t get her to undo it.
When I was a kid, my bedroom was an attic room. I would refuse to go into my room until my mom could go upstairs ~~with~~ before me and turn on a light for me. This continued until I was in my early teens (12, 13, 14). And not about me but a testament to what a great mom I have, she would do this for me EVERY night.

And the bloggers I want to award are the following:

Kiwords

Kirida

AttentionDeficitWhatever

(And yes, I realize this is 8 blogs and not 7. I’m an English major; you do the math, next time.)

Category: Life with Linda, Weblogs Tags: blogging, Writing Comments off

Thanking The Academy

Nov 2011

Linda

Versatile: ver-sa-tile [vur-suh-tl] or, especially British, [vur-suh-tahyl]: capable of, or adapted for, turning easily from one to another various tasks, fields of endeavor, etc.: a versatile writer.
Word information source: www.dictionary.com
Here is how the award works:
1. You thank the person who presented you with the award.
2. You tell 7 things about yourself.
3. You award 15 other newly discovered bloggers.

I want to thank Sheila at ThisOneBody for nominating me for this award. I first *discovered* Sheila on the discussion boards at VerticalSleeveTalk.com, and I quickly began reading her blog as well. I love her posts, and since she is a year out, she is such an inspiration to me. Plus, she has posted a couple of great recipes that I’ve enjoyed trying and sharing with all of you (like the protein-packed iced coffee).

Here are seven random things about me that you may not already know:

I am the mother of four children. Before I was able to give birth to any of them, I had the misfortune of having three miscarriages. They were blighted ovums and pretty devastating emotionally. Before miscarrying, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be a mom let alone the mother of four. Now, I don’t know what I’d do without these four.
I started dating my husband when I was a senior in high school. He was a junior. We’ve been together since March 4, 1989. We aren’t typical high school sweethearts because we didn’t attend the same school.
I was a cheerleader for six years (sixth grade through high school), and I loved it. I also once tried coaching high school cheerleaders and didn’t love it. It made me give even more credit to my favorite coach, Wendy.
I started taking ballet, jazz and tap when I was 8 years old. I loved it, and I think it really influenced how I carry myself posture-wise.
I have driven hundreds of miles to meet in person people I previously knew only online including some of my closest friends. In fact, when I met one friend I couldn’t even prove who I was because I’d left my wallet at my brother’s house. Despite being ID-less, I still talked the hotel into letting me into her room when she wasn’t there. (I showed my car registration.)
Growing up, I was a picker like American Pickers. My dad was morbidly obese, so I was his legs. He taught me about antiques and belongings. We’d go to flea markets, auctions and yard sales. It was my job to scout the area and then report back to him. Sometimes, he would direct me to the object from the car. Other times, I’d go off on my own and find things to report back. He would then go directly to the booth that had the items I told him about. As a result, I know a lot about antiques and collectibles as well as negotiating.
Another skill I learned because of my dad’s interests was how to pack lots of stuff in a little space. We’d frequently load things up to set up at auctions and flea markets. Or we’d go out to yard sales and buy things, and it’d be my job to get it into the vehicle. When I was about 15, I made the mistake of telling my dad he couldn’t buy anything else because the car was full. He bought a trunk. It took me a half hour to unload the vehicle and load it all back in, but I did get everything in although there was only a tiny bit of space left for me to sit uncomfortably on the way home.

And the 15 blogs I nominate for this award are the following:

You Can Get There From Here

If Only She Were Thinner

MrsFatAss

My Journey to Fit

Something Something Something Fat Chick

VSGMom

Skinny Jeans Dreams