200by40 – Weight Loss the Right Way

Phase 2 Weekly Weigh-In #1

Okay, so I know it hasn’t been a full week. Don’t expect much as a result, but at least this will give me a chance to go over things I’m doing different this time. 

• Weekly Weigh-In #1; Phase 2: 202.5 lbs.
• Phase 2 Starting Weight: 203.3 lbs.
• Gain/loss of: -0.8 lbs.
• Pounds to Go: 12.5 lbs.
• Weight Loss to Date: 94.5 lbs.

The scale was acting funny this morning, fluctuating between all sorts of numbers. My weight for today is an average of all of them and for the first few days I’d say that’s not too bad. We’ll see how things pan out over the next few weeks.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I’m going to do things a little different this time around just to shake things up. First and most notably I have decided to abandon my Weight Watchers Point Excel chart for the month, and there are a few reasons for this: a) I need something different and b) after listening to a great podcast the other day, I discovered the importance of BMR.

What is BMR? It’s your Basal Metabolic Rate, or the amount of calories you burn by simply doing nothing–even sleeping. No matter what you’re doing, you burn calories and how many you burn depends on your height, weight and age. (To determine your BMR, go here.) After determining what your BMR is, it’s important to know that that number–mine is 1954.49–is what your body needs in order to maintain your current weight. If you want to shed some weight, simply take in less than your recommended BMR or exercise some more. 

My next change also goes hand-in-hand with the BMR thing. I discovered a fantastic (and free) iPhone/iPod Touch app on the iTunes store called Lose It! This app is probably one of the best I’ve come across because it keeps track of everything: weight, calorie intake, activities/calories burned, goal date, and also has a thorough database of foods to choose from when entering what you’ve eaten. If it’s not there, you can create your own data for it and save it for future use.

In my case, I was allowed 1,637 calories–just slightly lower than my BMR. Calories are tallied up as you enter your food intake and the app determines how many calories you have left to consume to stay in your safe zone. And if you add activities, the appropriate number of calories is subtracted from your total. Can it get any simpler than that? I don’t think so!

And let me tell you: seeing intake in calories vs. Points is a real kick in the gut. 

On the Wii Fit front, I have chosen to run the Island Lap while holding 5 lb. dumbells in each hand. I started that last night and noticed a considerable difference while “jogging” as I sweated much more than usual. Also, I found a little hidden extra in the “jogging” portion of the game. If you follow the different colored dogs, you run at a swifter pace than following a standard Mii. I tried it and yes, it does seem much faster!

Finally, I had mentioned earlier a podcast I discovered so I thought I’d give it a mention. It’s called Fat 2 Fit and it’s pretty much a couple of guys talking weight loss on a human level. Nothing complicated; no degrees in anatomy required. You just listen to what they have to say about their progress, answer listener e-mail, get tips from others, and discover Web sites or other valuable information. (That’s how I found out about BMR!) It’s a good listen and I’d recommend it to anybody who wants to lose weight but doesn’t know where to start.

You can give the Fat 2 Fit podcast a listen here:

I think that’s enough for today. If you don’t hear from me the rest of the week, I’ll see you here next Wednesday. Stay focused!

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