My daughter is starting on a weight loss journey today. She has had a rapid weight gain, in the last four years or so, and it is causing her problems. Two of her doctors feel it is medication induced, have changed or removed the meds and now she is on a PLAN.
I have as much weight to lose as she does and I am very sedentary. So, I have decided to join her on her journey. We had a long conversation last night about all the methods and I still say that journaling food, weighing, measuring and counting calories is the best way — a bit of mood tracking as well to see when our most weak times are, just getting a picture of what we are actually eating, when and why.
BUT…both of us feel that food journaling is the spawn of the devil. The first day is fine, after that it is just a chore. But, we have decided this will be our method. I prefer a journal/pen and she prefers MyFitnessPal. There are advantages to both, if you will.
The journal/pen method lets you keep notes about when you eat, why and just adding in a mood/enviornmental factor. The downside you have to look up all the food in a calorie counter, online, or on the product itself. That takes a lot more time than I am willing to give. Do I have the time? Yes. Is that how I want to spend it? No. So…..
MyFitnessPal does have some distinct advantages. One, you put it on your phone and/or iPad (I have it on both) so you have your method of tracking with you at most times. It has most of the items you eat in the database so looking up info is a lot less necessary. It also breaks down what you eat into viewable components of fats, protein, and carbs. It also shows you the micronutrients you ingest. It is a nice little tool to see all the good and bad you are doing in a day.
It is boring. But, it seems to be a necessary evil.
We are also walking 30 minutes a day. That will be a lot easier for the daughter than me. She teaches school which means she is on her feet all the time anyway and she has a giant dog that requires walking. She also has a Tony Little Gazelle at home so I don’t think the 30 minutes a day is going to be an issue for her. For me? Ha! Quite another story. This sounds ridiculous but I am afraid I am going to have to break it up in segments — possibly 10 minutes at a time. I am dangerously sedentary because of my knees and this is going to take some work on my part and I am a bit ambivalent about it but I am going to give it a go because we are in this together!
So, I spoke to my partner in crime this morning and she is not thrilled about the whole thing which I can so totally understand. I am very meh about it myself but I know that if I don’t lose the weight I am not going to be able to walk. She is staring down a family history of diabetes and I am staring down a family history of arthritis, neither of which we want. So, off we go.
But, I am sending her this to cheer her up — granted, she prefers Snoopy and Winnie the Pooh but this cute little furry is just going to have to do.
So, wish us luck. I think we are gonna need it!
4 comments:
I was prescribed a twelve week gym membership recently and to start I had a session with a personal trainer. I felt a total nellie walking into a gym! The trainer was understanding and he has set me a tailor made programme which I am doing my best to follow. My targets are low and (almost) achievable. This is on the NHS so free - not so sure I would want to pay for such embarassment. But the personal trainer was brilliant. I shall see him again in a few weeks.
Mary, that sounds really good. I am such a mess right now that I am just walking, mostly around my kitchen. My first try this morning I set the timer for 10 minutes and I had to stop three times during that 10 minutes. My hip just locks up and I stop — just stop! So, I have a step counter on my phone and I am just carrying the phone with me which is wildly inconvenient but I am aiming for 2000 steps a day, hopefully working up. Good luck with your program! Keep it up! And let me know how it is going!
It sounds like a great idea but I can see how hard it would be to walk if your hip gives you such problems. I wish you and your daughter the best of luck!!
Thank you Granny! I actually think I am off to a better start than she is. I changed my approach to the walking — instead of trying to walk 10 minutes straight, I decided to count steps! That way I can see an improvement and have a goal to beat! I even bought an Apple Watch to help because carrying my phone around with me to count my steps was a tad problematic. I have a Fitbit but for some reason I can’t tolerate the band on my bad wrist. So, hopefully this will be better.
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