After the whole second post on Friday thing I hope you’re not sick of me (or Brad hehehe.) I’m on week two of my two week no exercise sentence. I’m getting kind of antsy.
Yesterday I was working the Terry Fox Run at our University. Before we got started my team members were playing around with a soccer ball. I stood to the side, arms crossed, staring at said ball, or off into space. They kicked it to me anyways, I kicked it back. Le sigh … I couldn’t really join in and show off my bend it like Beckham moves. (I lie I have none of those moves but since I didn’t participate I could easily be all like “I’m awesome with a soccer ball but I can’t show you my awesome moves because I have a concussion.”)
Anyhoo. We were in charge of cheering … and cheer we did … AND high fived!
Let’s move on to the part of this post that matches the title – it’s about weightloss.
A couple weeks ago someone wrote to me that in order to lose weight I needed to incur a calorie deficit.
Let’s repeat:
CALORIE DEFICIT
I can’t find exactly where/ who wrote that (Twitter? Facebook? blog post?) so if it was you, identify yourself!!!!
I hadn’t really thought about weight loss that way. In fact I didn’t have much of a weight loss philosophy. The only thing I was sure of was that I was not going to count calories. Nope. Wasn’t doing it. You could torture me but I would not give in ….. ummmmm y’all see where this is going right?
After must peer pressure (of the good kind if there is in fact a good kind) I’ve joined My Fitness Pal. So, um, yeah, I guess I’m counting calories. And apparently you can follow people on it (i.e. use it as another social media site) so if you want to see all the crappy food I eat you can find me under the username lifeafterbagels.
I should tell you two things if you’re going to find me:
- I’ve started eating fish. I don’t talk much about vegetarianism on this blog, in fact I’ve posted meat recipes because I still cook it for Brad. But I had been eating vegetarian for many years and have recently decided to add fish back to my diet. This may stick, this may not. We’ll see and I’ll let you know.
- I’m still trying to get this whole food thing on track so you may very well find pizza (like Saturday) or chips (like yesterday) or bagels (mmmmmm bagels!). I’m far from perfect, obviously. You don’t gain 25lbs by being on your game.
Any former vegetarians that have gone pescetarian? Tips for using My Fitness Pal?
Good luck with the tracking! I just recently went back to Weight Watchers online and am getting used to tracking all of my points.
I haven’t attached a title “yet,” but I haven’t had meat since August 4 but I have been eating fish. So, I guess that means I’ve been eating Pescetarian.
Love the signs! Hope it was a great event!
I’m a vegetarian who has considered making the switch to pescetarian, but I have not done so yet (except for special sushi dates with the boyfriend a few times per year). I imagine that adding fish back into your diet would make meeting your protein requirements much easier, plus increase access to healthy omega 3s, assuming you aren’t current supplementing.
Dietary labels suck, in my very humble opinion. I’ve been vegetarian for almost six years, and I’m currently aiming for a mostly vegan diet. But when I’m eating out or when someone offers me food they made, I have a ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach. Plus, my husband sometimes ‘forces’ me to try a piece of his meat/fish/seafood dish, so I may or may not take a bite, just to please him. But I never really like it.
See, it’s freaking complicated!
I hate counting calories, but I know it works. Keep going!
I used My Fitness Pal for exactly one day. I knew I had no business counting calories, I knew it would make me crazy, but I tried it anyway. It just doesn’t work for me. So basically I’m in a super awesome position where I can’t count my calories, or really exercise any more than I already do. I’m just kind of hoping that if I think about it enough, the weight will just melt off. I’ll let you know how that goes.
Tracking is the best way to lose weight! Go get it and the fishes!
I love using My Fitness Pal, but only for keeping track of certain macros. I don’t use it for obsessive calorie counting. Use it for what you NEED:)
I don’t use myfitnesspal often, but I do use it as a “checkin” of sorts once in a while. It’s easy to use and seems to be pretty accurate!
I am glad you are using the tool..when I use it properly it really works!! That said, I would recommend that you don’t take the calorie burn from the app because it tends to over inflate the calories burned during most exercises which means you could end up adding back more than you should and thus eating more than you should to lose weight.
I actually don’t add the calories back at all.I aim for a set range every day and stick to the lower end if I skipped a workout. But I think everyone needs to figure out what works right for them.
Oh and I added you!
Awww I completely forgot about Terry Fox Run. I remember doing it all the time back in highschool, however my university doesn’t really make it a big deal. Kind off miss it
In terms of calories, just use it as an estimate and don’t fuss about it too much. Too be honest I’m not sure how accurate those calculators are anyways and different foods have different amounts of calories due to the amount of energy needed to digest them. So yea… use it as a way to keep yourself accountable but don’t fuss about it too much.
I actually am a big supporter in calorie counting – especially in the beginning to get started with finding foods, portions, combinations that work to satisfy a person in a healthy range for his/her personal goals. Then, I think people can go to more loosely tracking just a few days per week once they get that good “feel” and reference point. Either way – the calories do count in weight loss, so it makes sense to know what you’re taking in, especially if progress is stalling. Doesn’t have to get obsessive.
My Fitness Pal was such an eye opener for me. First I realized I was eating too many calories, and the app helped to me reign that in. I lost a little and then started gaining again. So I looked at My Fitness Pal and saw that while there was a reduction in calories, I was picking low calorie processed foods and not fruits and vegs – so I ended up switching to a different plan/tracker that promotes weight loss with unlimited fruits and veggies. It’s all about what works for you – but if you are looking for that deficit, My Fitness Pal is the way to go
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