could I be eating too much fat?

I wanted to see how my macronutrients have been adding up since I've started to track my food online every day.

I use MyPlate at Livestrong.com and I love love love it. Except for one minor flaw (when you enter food manually, it only lets you enter calories, no macros like protein, carbs or fats, etc), it is a really helpful tool to aid you in weight loss (or gain). I've tried SparkPeople.com but I didn't find it as user friendly as MyPlate.

Most of the food I eat I can find searching their database. It's smart and saves food you eat a lot into a "favorite" category and it makes finding that food quicker. I can easily change portion sizes, whether it's cups, tsp, oz, etc. I can track my water intake. I can track my calories burned by entering them manually or finding specific exercises in their database, log miles, log heart rate, and much more. There is a constant bar at the top that fills as I eat throughout the day so I know how much I've eaten and how much I have left to eat. It also breaks the day's calories up by meals, so I can track my macros per meal. And at the end of the day, I have a lovely pie chart that shows my ratios of carbs/protein/fat.

Another nice thing is that as my weight changes, it will change my caloric needs for me. Or you have the option to enter your calorie goal manually. VERY helpful.

So today, I decided to average out how my pie chart has been over the past 11 days. Very interesting to me. Here they are:

On average, each day I'm getting 38% from carbs, 33% from protein, and 29% from fat.
Here's how I want it to look: 50/30/20

It's shocking to me to discover how low my carb percentage is, even though I'm not even trying to go lower carb. In fact, not one single day did I get to 50%. Not even on my splurge day. I got close, 49%, but never hit 50%. My protein is surprisingly adequate. But what really gets me is how easy it is to eat too much fat. It's from good fat (mostly), but it's still on the higher end. I would be really interested in tracking these numbers on a week where I wasn't specifically trying to eat a certain way. I bet I would be just as shocked.

What this tells me is that I should try to eat more carbs and less fat. Which is completely backwards from how my mind seems to be programmed. After the "low fat craze" of the past that wasn't necessarily the best fad diet that ever was and then the "low carb craze" that still doesn't seem to have gone away, it seems almost wrong to try and eat more carbs and less fat. All this time I've thinking I eat too many carbs, but maybe not. Maybe I'm not as "carb sensitive" as I once thought. Maybe I'm just eating too much fat. Even too much of a good thing can be bad.

A calorie is a calorie, right? I know it's not the same when you think of a 400 calorie slice of cake compared to a 400 calorie meal composed of healthy foods, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is, at the end of the day, the extra calories from olive oil, avocados, lean meats, etc will add up just the same as junk calories. The healthy fats will definitely fill you up better, probably causing you to intake less calories overall than if you just constantly fed your face with junk, but it adds up just the same.

So, it is quite possible to believe that the amount of fat I'm eating could be the culprit, not the carbs as I've always thought. We will see. Too early in the game to tell and I'm not going to change anything yet.

There was ONE day out of the 11 that I ate near perfect according to how I wanted. March 16th I had 50/30/20. And now, if I want, I can go back to that day and use it as a reference point if I wanted to change my eating habits. MyPlate....one helpful tool!

A couple things...

I bought "The Fat Burning Kitchen" by one of my favorite health and fitness authors, Mike Geary, and Catherine Ebeling. I can't wait to dig into that book! It will be very useful in the upcoming months as I'm sliding into home ;)  Even though I really pride myself on knowing proper nutrition already, and how to use the kitchen just as much as the gym to get a lean sexy body, it's still important to always keep reading and learning and discovering new and helpful ideas.

Another ego boosting moment for me at the gym yesterday....

My mom is somewhat of a social butterfly. Even though she claims she is somewhat shy, she is able to talk to pretty much anyone about anything. Trust me. I know what shy is, and shy she is not! One of the funny things about her is that I will do something stupid (like crumble under smith machine, see story here) and beg her not to mention it to her trainer....

me -"you swear you won't tell her? you swear? swear it!!"
mom - "oh, of course I won't say anything" [insert evil grin]

yet, the next time she has a session, I bet you $100 that's one of the first things she says to her. I bet you!

Anyway, back to her being a social butterfly and always talking to people. Perhaps telling people more than she should. I used to tease her that if someone she didn't know got into an elevator with her, they'd know her life story by the 3rd floor! So she met this woman at the gym yesterday and as I walked by to get a drink of water, mom grabs me and says, "I want you to meet "Jane" (we'll keep real names out)". So I said hi, or whatever I could get out because I was panting like a dog. And she says, "Oh, I see you here every day. I thought you were a trainer." [k, my head just grew]

Later on, my mom meets yet another woman. They start talking, whatever. And this woman is asking about some exercise and my mom didn't have any idea, "But", she says, "You can ask her (pointing to me) I bet she would know", and the lady replies, "Oh no! She's far too advanced!" [head....growing]

Really, I just am in awe at comments like these. I feel......proud, I guess. This is ultimately what I wanted, for people to notice what I've spent literally years working on. Because the people I see everyday (my family), they don't care about my fitness or how I look in a bikini. They don't understand my goals. Therefore, it never seems like I get positive feedback from them, and they are supposed to be my biggest support system!

I think if I were someone else reading this, I might think, "geez, brag much?" but I'm sorry, I have to. I've spent sooooo long picking myself apart and not feeling good enough and feeling like a failure, that I need this. I really do. I can hold my head up high, feeling confident in myself, finally! It's nice.

When you work hard for something, it doesn't go unnoticed!

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. We went to church, got the ash cross on our foreheads, and swore off chocolate for the next 40 days. (well, at least I did) Yep, gave it up for lent. Great, girl scouts have some really good timing, don't they? Seriously, there are boxes upon boxes of cookies in our possesion right now, as I have a wee girl scout on the selling warpath. (p.s. if you are a local reader and want some.....you know who to call *wink*)

Happy Thursday!!

Like pop?

Haha...when I first typed that title, I accidentally typed "poop" instead of pop. I almost left it. Because it was funny. And that's what I think of pop anyway.

Why? Because according to the University of Rochester Medical Center, drinking any type of soda every day may increase your chance of developing metabolic syndrome, which can lead to heart disease.

Sadly, I know a LOT of people that are pretty much addicted to pop. Whether its regular or diet, it's all the same. Crap. Diet is even worse than regular because A) it's sweetened with JUNK like saccharin, aspartame or sucralose and B) consuming a lot of artificial sweeteners can actually make you gain weight because it increases your desire for sweet foods and leads you to consume more calories overall.

So glad I'm not addicted to that nast!

Anyway, I happened upon something called Zevia. And it's pop in all the popular flavors (cola, lemon-lime, root beer, dr. pepper, orange, etc) and it's sweetened with Stevia. So I bought a couple kinds, just to see if my family would like it. They drank it. They liked it. Zero sugar, zero aspertame. Zero calories. ALL NATURAL.

I even tasted it. But since I don't like pop in general, I didn't like this either.

My kids were STOKED because I rarely let them have pop. Pretty much only on holidays or special occassions of some type.

It's spendy though. I think a 6 pack was like $5.99. But, how can you put a price on your health, right?

Tuesday, Day 17

Epic fail.

Thaaaaaaat's right. You heard me. I'm a cheater. I can't be trusted. Well, in the kitchen anyway.

Here's the food log for today.

Breakfast: fruit, yogurt, granola parfait

Snack: white bread w/nutella, 1 egg, 2 turkey links (380 cal)

Lunch: Pizza for one (420 cal)

Snack: none

Dinner: Homemade pizza (pesto sauce, roasted stop light pepper, onions, mushrooms, cheese)

Oh, but I didn't stop there....

6 mini tacos (300 cal)

Dessert: smart ones (170 cal), Swedish punsch roll (190 cal), gingerbread cookie

WORKOUT: Turbo Jam turbo sculpt 40 minutes ... at least I did ONE thing right today

OVERALL: I'm not even going to get into it...today was bad. I have these days from time to time. I'll consider it a "cheat day" and move on. It's embarrassing, and this accountability thing is a good eye opener. Sigh...

I just have to keep reminding myself that the more days like this I have, the farther away my goal gets.

Better luck to you all today!!

Tuesday, Day 10

LOW DAY

Breakfast: Fiber One cereal

AM Snack: little popcorn, 2 whole eggs, 3 whites, Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bar

WORKOUT: 30 Day Shred, 20 minute walk at incline

Lunch: 5 Boca meatless nuggets, sweet potato fries

PM Snack: Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bar

Dinner: Lentil Soup

Pre-bed snack: Fiber One cottage cheese, 1 tsp Natural Peanut Butter

OVERALL: could have done without 2 of the sweet and salty bars since they have 11 grams of sugar...that was a bad. But still, the day could have been worse. In fact, when I'm not consciously watching my calorie intake, I am positive that it looks much worse. I should actually write down what I eat on one of my "don't give a S*#t" days in the future (hopefully it's WAY into the future) just to compare. I think I'm used to eating a lot.

WEDNESDAY MORNING....

I weighed myself this morning. I try to weigh myself once a week, preferably the 3rd morning after a high carb day. I wasn't overly enthused about the result of over a week of pretty restricted diet and daily exercise but it is going in the right direction so I guess I shouldn't complain. I was down almost a pound. After the Christmas gorge and barf-o-rama fiasco I weighed 115.8 and this morning I was a solid 115.

I don't really have a weight loss goal, but I do have a fat loss goal. And if I lose fat, I'm assuming the scale will go down. I don't expect to be adding muscle with the puny 3 and 5 lb dumbbells I'm using with 30 Day Shred. (that comes next month!!) My goal isn't about weight, it's about measurements. I would LOVE to shave an inch off my thighs. An inch of fat of my thighs would TOTALLY make me happy :)

Day 9, Monday

LOW DAY

Breakfast: 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1 slice havarti cheese, oatmeal (couldn't finish it though)

WORKOUT: 30 Day Shred, 20 minute walk at an incline

AM Snack: Protein shake w/ oatmeal and strawberries

Lunch: Lentil Soup, popcorn

PM Snack: Fiber One cereal

Dinner: Salad, 6 Large Sea Scallops

OVERALL: My motivation is still pretty high but today was a day where I had to REALLY fight to not cheat. I think my emotions play a part. Huh, never thought of myself as an emotional eater. Anyway, food choices were pretty ok. Exercise is going amazingly well. Have not gotten off goal (which is to continue 30 day shred until the last day of January) and I think that is the key for me. Before, I was making all these long term goals and I was never reaching them. Making shorter term goals like a month out is better. When I reach it I will feel elated I'm sure.

Saturday, Day 7

Saturday 1/9/10

LOW DAY

Breakfast:
1 whole egg, 3 whites (omelet) w/
1 head broccoli, 4 scallions, 1/4 C. cheese

WORKOUT:
30 Day Shred
20 minute brisk walk

AM Snack:
Protein shake w/ muscle milk, oatmeal, frozen strawberries

Lunch:
small Philly Cheese Steak Pita from Pita Extreme
a few Pita Chips (could have done without these)

PM Snack:
1/2 C. Fiber One Cottage Cheese
1 TBSP All Natural Peanut Butter

Dinner:
tiny amount of chicken stir fry (I wasn't hungry at all!)
1 glass red wine

Evening treat:
1 tiny square cappuccino chocolate

OVERALL: I think the day was good again, which makes it an entire week of near perfect eating and exercise behind me! I am so proud of myself! I feel strong, enpowered and successful. And that is just the motivation I need to keep at it!

I have decided that I am going to stick with the calorie cycling and cardio for the month of January to see if I can't get some stubborn fat off. Then, starting in February, I will begin with hardcore weight training again, only doing cardio a few days a week. I will also be bumping up my calorie intake so I can FEED my muscles and hopefully get them to grow and show their beatiful curves!! I think by the end of May, this plan should produce some good results for me.

New Idea

Since I'm not "training" my mom anymore (although she constantly talks about the need to come over here a few times a week to workout with me) I decided to take this blog in a new direction. I'm going to start documenting my own progress.

I don't expect it to be that exciting since I'm already at my ideal weight. I do, however, wish to continue to plug away at those problem areas. My goal is to be able to wear a swim suit in public without feeling the need to cover my backside! LOL

I'm going to display my food log and list my exercises each day (this is the hope...not saying it will happen EVERY day) and that should make me more accountable, for my own purposes. I have taken pictures of my body but I think it might make my hubby cringe if I posted them. I'll post one for good measure :)

This week (following a 2 week hiatus from diet and exercise) I've been back at it in full force. I LOVE the way I feel! The two weeks around Christmas where I told myself I was on a "break" and I wasn't going to worry about it were nice, but no where NEAR as nice as it feels to be eating right and kicking ass with my workouts like I have been this week.

I am back to carb/calorie cycling and I LOVE it! I swear I already feel leaner....and although it's probably all in my mind THAT'S OK!! The mind is your most POWERFUL ally when it comes to your body's progress.

I am doing three days low: no starchy carbs past 3pm and hovering somewhere between 1100-1200 calories.
Then I do one day high: I can have pasta or rice or potato with dinner so I bump my calorie intake up. (I might eat more during the day too...hello triscuits!!)

This method of zig zagging calories is supposed to burn thru fat like CRAZY and rev up metabolism. Although I'm fairly certain I have a pretty high metabolism anyway judging by the amount of cookies and junk I burned thru during Christmas...LOL!

By going pretty low for three days, you are in a calorie deficit (amped up of course thru exercise) and then right before the *starvation response kicks in, you bump up the calories just a little so your body can relax because it's not thinking it needs to store that extra fat for the upcoming famine. And WHAM! Fat burning is gung ho. At least, that's how it's supposed to work according to what I've read.

Then I have my own little exercise scheme as well. I've read that for ideal fat burning, you should walk at a brisk pace, or do whatever form of cardio you like that keeps you in your fat burning zone. NO KIDDING?!?!?!?! You mean I don't have to run on the treadmill for hours anymore? HALLELUJAH! In fact, I've read that cardio does nothing for FAT loss unless you do it in the morning in a fasted state (and who wants to do that??) or right after a weight training session. The later is what I do. But I don't run, I walk briskly. (I emphisize FAT loss because weight loss and fat loss can mean two different things)

So, this week my regimen has consisted of LOW DAYS (Sun, Mon, Tue) followed by a HIGH DAY (Wed), back down to LOW DAYS (Thurs, today and tomorrow), etc.. And I've started with a weight/cardio DVD called 30 Day Shred, followed by 20 minutes of brisk walking every day this week so far.

Still not my IDEAL plan, but it's a start. I had to break myself in slowly after the Christmas break.

And there you have it! I'm hoping to really see a difference in my body by summer. Keeping this online fitness diary should be good for me. We'll see.

And here is a little before pic. I'm really hoping to "beef" up my arms a bit more but I think that might be hard right now when I'm eating so few calories.



I also track my weight training and other forms of exercise on a website called GYMINEE. Or, you can just go to Daily Burn, which is where I enter all my nutrition and workout data. Set up your own account and then friend me so we can share our workout success and keep each other motivated! I have a couple friends from high school that are on the site and it's fun to keep each other in the game!

I like it because of the ease of use when it comes to logging weight training sessions. And I always have a reference if I want to look back and see what my previous weight was or how many reps I'm at so I can keep progressing.

Enough talk! Good luck to everyone on their own fitness and diet goals. Let's make 2010 our year to shine!!

*I made a reference to Tom Venuto's website when it comes to the starvation response because I've read his stuff and he is a very wise man in my opinion. And he has the body to prove it! I first read of the zig zag method in his book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle.

Don't you love our diet?

-PART ONE-



Mmmmmm......homemade chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. HEAVEN!



Oh, and we had pizza for supper. "So how the heck is she gonna lose the weight", you ask? Wouldn't YOU like to know ;)

-PART TWO-

proof...



G-ma has been SUCH a good sport. We don't "officially" start our training and nutrition program until Monday but I wanted her to be firmly in a groove by then. She's been on the treadmill every morning and night. Up to 6 minutes 30 seconds each time and I decided we're going add a noon hour session as well. PLUS....she worked out with weights again today. The lady did deadlifts....kid you not....WITH WEIGHTS!! WHOO HOO!! We're gonna rock this fat loss THANG!